


I Was Born For Your Sake

by REKitRach



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Romance, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:28:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 39,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28322367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/REKitRach/pseuds/REKitRach
Summary: Mitsuru wanted to be friends with Ritsu which seemed innocent enough, but could the overly apologetic kimono wearing man accept that he deserves her as a friend? And what about the curse? Lots of drama and budding romance will come from it surely! My take on the aftermath of Ritsu and Mitsuru's relationship after the events of episode 19 of the 2019 Fruits Basket anime. I will try to update this regularly and reviews are appreciated!
Relationships: Mitsuru/Sohma Ritsu
Comments: 27
Kudos: 9





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! :D This is my first Fruits Basket fanfiction! I absolutely adore Ritsu and Mitsuru as a couple, and we definitely have the 2019 anime to thank for blessing us with episode 19 for fleshing out their relationship! I feel like they don't get nearly enough love, and they BARELY got much in the manga, T_T, so since they are my #1 OTP in Fruits Basket, XD, I decided I would do my best to give them a story! I am heavily relying on episode 19 for the beginning dialogue and overall premise of my story as I try to come up with what I believe their relationship is like after the events of that episode! Reviews are super appreciated and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Um, if it’s alright with you, will you be my friend?” Mitsuru asked innocently enough as she fumbled with the manuscript in her hands nervously awaiting a response.

“Huh? But, are you sure you want to be friends with me?” Ritsu asked softly sort of taken aback by her request.

“Yes, please!" She blushed with high enthusiasm in her voice, as she seemed firm in her decision. "Please teach me how to wear a kimono some time! I want to learn to be more feminine like you, Ritchan-sa-!”

“Mitchan, Mitchan.” Shigure interrupted while waving his takoyaki with a mischievous smile ready to drop the bombshell on her. “Ritchan is a boy.”

“Huh?” The woman exclaimed while looking at Ritsu in shock as his cheeks were now enveloped with an embarrassed shade of crimson.

“O-oohh!!! I’m so sorry for assuming you were a girl based off your appearance!-

“-I’M SO SORRY!!! I APOLOGIZE THAT MY CLOTHES ARE CONFUSING!!!!!!!-

“-It’s just that you’re so beautiful so I just thought-!”

“-B-Beautiful?? Ahh you’re too kind! I’m so sorry I made you need to be kind!! I-!”

Yuki, Tohru, Kyo and Shigure all stood in the room as the kimono wearing man and the hyperactive editor were frantically going back and forth with their excessive apologies.

“Will they ever stop?” Yuki uttered.

“This is stupid.” Kyo said with annoyance.

“I-I can’t do much!! But I will happily show you how to wear a kimono!! Or we can do something else together!!!” Ritsu practically shouted still embarrassed hoping she wasn’t instantly regretting wanting to be his friend.”

“Thank you! I look forward to it!” Mitsuru said happily with a warm smile.

“I-I look forward to it, too!!!!” He interjected to share in her enthusiasm.

_‘I hope someday I can say to someone, ‘I was born for your sake’’_

_‘I hope I can say that someday, and I hope that whoever I say that too...’_

_‘Is waiting for those words’_

_‘Is waiting for those words’._

Suddenly the sound of the wall clock interrupted Mitsuru and Ritsu from their thoughts, as the clock read 9:00PM.

“OH, NO!!!!! THE DEADLINE!! THERE’S NOT MUCH TIME LEFT!!” Mitsuru shouted to the top of her lungs as she shot up onto her feet and clutched the manuscript she’d so desperately been trying to get from Shigure all day long for dear life.

Ritsu was startled by her sudden outburst, but understood that this manuscript was something of more importance to her than her own life. He recalled that it was dark outside and how earlier Shigure insisted he escort her when they got takoyaki together. He gulped nervously at the thought of being so bold as to escort her again; let alone asking her himself this time without Shigure’s intervention. Now that she wanted to be his friend, perhaps this was a golden opportunity to prove himself. “U-um, M-...mit ..chan-...san, I...-“ he uttered almost inaudibly in broken choppy breaths as his nerves were getting the best of him.

“I MUST BE GOING!!!” She shouted as her overly panicked state of mind prevented her from any rational thought. She made a beeline for the door and bolted out of the house so fast in a puff of smoke that nobody could stop her.

Ritsu stared at the door and blushed; lowering his head in shame that he couldn’t bring himself to ask to walk with her. It also dawned on him that he had no contact information or anything from Mitsuru, so perhaps he wouldn't get a chance to see her again after all. Once again he was reminded of how people had tried so hard for him today, and he still had failed Shigure’s challenges from earlier. This prompted his feelings of self-loathing to come back with a vengeance despite Tohru's best efforts to remind him there was a reason in living earlier. The thought that he didn’t deserve Mitsuru as a friend broke him.

“Ritchan-san!” Tohru said while running over and placing a hand on Ritsu’s back as he sat feeling dejected. The silent sounds of sniffles were resounding from him as his face was buried in his hands. “A-are you okay..?” She asked cautiously already sensing the psychotic episode that was about to come.

“WAHHHH!!! I HAVE TAKEN ENOUGH OF EVERYONE’S VALUABLE TIME TODAY!!!!” He stood up and bowed multiple times. “I MUST LEAVE AND APOLOGIZE TO THE WORLD FOR ALL THE EFFORT EVERYONE PUT IN FOR A LOWLIFE LIKE ME!!” He shouted and ran for the door before Shigure could do his classic side poke to calm him down.

The room was finally silent for the first time in a while as everyone sat; taking in the events that have just transpired.

“My, oh my, it seems once Ritchan takes one step forward, he takes two steps back.” Shigure said nonchalantly while popping more takoyaki into his mouth like he had little disregard for his cousin's feelings.

“..I thought after our talk earlier on the roof he would learn to have more confidence...” Tohru said sadly; genuinely feeling terrible for Ritsu.

“Nah, don’t worry about that guy, Tohru, he’s just being a big baby.” Kyo said with arms folded as he stood by her side. “I mean that damn editor lady said she wanted to be his friend, so I don’t get what the big deal is.”

Yuki also joined Tohru on the opposite side and tried to ease her guilt over a situation that really wasn't her fault to begin with. Of course he didn't want to agree with Kyo, but he also wanted to remind Tohru that it had nothing to do with her. “Don’t beat yourself up over this, Honda-san. This is just how Ritsu is, and I don’t see him changing any time soon.”

“I suppose so... I just wish Mitchan-san wouldn’t have left so abruptly. I’m sure Ritchan-san felt rejected..”

“Well it ain’t our problem one way or another, so don’t worry about it anymore, got it?” Kyo said rather bluntly rubbing the bridge of his nose just wanting to be done with this pointless drama as he could feel a migraine coming on from all the shouting he’d had to endure today.

“I suppose so...” Tohru said softly while trying to regain her cheery exposition. “Okay! I guess only time will tell! I’ll try not to be worried anymore!"

Meanwhile, Shigure sat and chuckled mischievously to himself behind his fan with his tongue sticking out as if he already had a plan set in motion.

* * *

"Thank you God or Buddha or whoever is up there for taking pity on me this night and sparing me from the pain Shigure-sensei, ‘The Evil One’, constantly puts me through!" Mitsuru exclaimed with exhaustion while tears of relief streamed down her face as she sat at her desk finishing up with editing.

The office was about to close, so she had to scramble like a madwoman to edit the manuscript and make sure it was free from errors before she could submit it before the deadline. Thankfully Shigure did a great job with it for once, so it was a breeze to check through. Normally he’d throw in stupid sentences on purpose like the one time he wrote, _‘Aaya and I are gay lovers, please don’t tell Haa-san.’_ and she had to seriously re-evaluate Shigure’s sexuality.

She was about ready to submit it and be done with it already so she could go home and finally have some peace, but as she went to check the final page; a small piece of folded paper came floating out and fell to the ground. Mitsuru blinked and looked at the foreign object that now rested at her feet.

"Hm?" She bent down and hovered her hand down as if to pick it up, but then she stopped herself short. "...Oh very funny, Shigure-sensei, I’ll bet this is another one of your stupid pranks.." She thought unamused with folded arms already preparing for it to have some absurd drawing or something lewd written on it. After a few moments of pouting and denying she cared, the sound of the ticking clock was starting to make her sweat with unease and her curiosity was beginning to overtake her as she wondered if the paper could be something of importance pertaining to the manuscript, and she couldn't risk handing it in if it was anything less than perfect. She begrudgingly bent back down and picked it up and unfolded it. Her eyes scanned the note, and her eyes lit up in surprise by its contents.

It was an address with the name _Ritchan_ scribbled at the top. There was also a sentence that was almost purposefully illegible written at the bottom that Mitsuru just blinked at not quite knowing how to process that information.

Suddenly an immense wave of guilt washed over the editor.

"Oh my gosh... Ritchan-san... I must've seemed so rude to leave the way I did without saying goodbye or asking for.. his-" She blushed having to correct herself as she remembered that the person she had befriended was actually male despite not knowing that little nugget of knowledge until the very end.

Not that it changed her feelings towards wanting to become friends and actually get to know him better. His words of encouragement from earlier echoed in her mind and she shook her head knowing that thinking about it wasn't going to change how she'd left things since she couldn't do anything about it now. As much as she hated this truth about herself, she was a one-track mind woman for sure, and in that moment the only thing on her mind was that damn manuscript. She mentally kicked herself wanting so desperately to make things right with Ritsu.

_“Ritchan-san..”_ She thought as she stood from her desk and made her way to her superior’s office. She handed in the manuscript on time, and decided to head home for the night as her mind began racing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so there’s chapter one!!! I really hope this isn’t too corny but I’m so excited for the future ideas of this story! I love these two so much so I’d love to hear people’s thoughts if they love them too! :D Shoutout to my sister, Megan who is a huge Furuba nerd and helped me come up with ideas and entertained the fact that Ritsu and Mitsuru are my favorite ship in the series despite how little they get XD Her OTP is Tohru and Yuki so we both have a thing for shipping the underdogs it seems XD Please rate and review! Thanks!


	2. Meeting Mother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so here is Mitsuru meeting Ritsu's mom! I am sorry if she is sort of OOC, but i wanted her to at least be capable of having a real conversation and not just scream "I'M SORRY!" the whole time lol. XD So yes this is super corny but i hope you will enjoy it! Reviews are appreciated!

* * *

The next morning, Mitsuru had the day off, so she allowed her curiosity towards the note to get the better of her as she wanted to make things right with Ritsu and begin their friendship off properly. Her heels clacked with every step she took as she studied the address that was written on the paper carefully. Suddenly a horrible feeling of dread washed over her as she feared for the worst since the note was from Shigure. Knowing that awful man, this address would lead her to a strip club, or a prison facility, or worse yet; some creepy dark alley where she’d get mugged and robbed of all the contents in her purse.

She shook her head to deny these outlandish thoughts hoping Shigure wasn’t _that_ cruel. As she got closer to the address, she paused in her tracks with wide eyes as she observed the building from behind the gate. It was a large two-story home and there were cherry blossom trees planted all around it, a koi pond was off to the side, and a beautiful lush garden covered every inch of the front of the house.

She stared with surprise that Ritsu could live in a home this breathtaking, but given his beauty and high quality kimonos, the thought he was well off was something she could definitely see as truth. She inhaled and exhaled to shake off her nerves and took the steps up the stairs to ring the doorbell.

There was a brief pause before the door slowly cracked open to reveal an elderly woman with jet-black hair in a messy updo clutching the doorframe and peaking her head out; looking at Mitsuru with fearful trepidation in her eyes.

Mitsuru took a small step backwards and stared in disbelief at the woman and instantly felt embarrassed thinking Shigure truly _did_ lead her to the wrong place on purpose. The gall of that man! Before Mitsuru could speak, the woman uttered in a shaky voice,

“H-how did you f-find this place?”

Mitsuru blinked not quite knowing how to reply to such a broad question. Come to think of it, this house was sort of in a hidden area. She clasped her hands together in a prayer and began bowing to apologize. “I-I’m so sorry to disturb you, ma’am! Stupid Shigure-sensei must’ve given me the wrong address! I will take my leave immediet-“

“GAHHH! I’M THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE SORRY! YOU CAME ALL THIS WAY FOR NO REASON! I MUST APOLOGIZE TO THE WORLD ON YOUR BEHALF-! DEAR GOD, I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS POOR LOST WOMAN!!! PLEASE HELP HER FIND HER WAY!” she bowed manically while clutching her head in her hysteria.

Mitsuru’s jaw dropped as she realized this overly apologetic rambling sounded oh too familiar as she began putting the pieces together in her mind.

“M-mother! A-are you alright?” A voice came from inside the home before appearing into sight. He put a hand on his frantic mother’s shoulder to comfort her, and shifted his gaze to the person in question that caused her to go into such a frazzled state. His eyes widened and his face instantly flushed with anxiety once he made eye contact with her. “M-Mitchan-san?!?!”

“Ritchan-san!!” Mitsuru exclaimed in equal shock.

Ritsu’s mother was instantly silenced from her shouting as soon as her son and this mystery visitor seemed to know each other, let alone referring to one another with silly honorifics. “R-Ritsu, dear, you _know_ who this woman is?” She said in an almost accusatory tone.

Ritsu clutched his kimono sleeves and bowed his head nervously as he tried to explain. “W-we.. met at Shigure-niisan’s house yesterday…” his face was still flushed and he probably was doing his best not to have a full blown panic attack.

Mitsuru knew she had to do the explaining. “Y-yes! I am Shigure-sensei’s editor! I would not have been able to submit his manuscript yesterday had it not been for, Ritchan-san! I came here to give my thanks!” she opted not to include the part where Ritsu actually spilled coffee on the manuscript; setting it back from being delivered at an early time frame, but she truly was thankful for meeting him and wouldn’t change anything that happened yesterday for the world, except maybe the earlier goose chase Shigure sent her on of course.

Ritsu looked back up at her and appeared shocked and confused by her presence, almost like he was wondering how she found out where he lived. She quickly interjected before anyone could ask, “A-and by the way, Shigure-sensei gave me this letter with your address on it! I’m not a stalker like he joked I was!!! Ah aha!” she scratched her lip with an awkward smile.

Ritsu’s mother clutched her heart terrified at the stalker joke which Mitsuru instantly regretted making.

“A-anyways, thank you very much for yesterday, Ritchan-san! I felt rude to have left things the way I did, so I just wanted you to know that! I-…I’m sorry for taking up both of your time!” She bowed feeling completely embarrassed and like she’d ruined her chances at the friendship she’d hope they’d have and began walking away.

“O..oh..” Ritsu uttered sadly with a hand extended as if he wanted to stop her and say more, but he stopped himself and brought that hand down, which made his mother notice.

“P-please won’t you come in and have some tea?” His mother uncharacteristically interjected yet with a hint of unease before Mitsuru could dash off.

“H-huh?” Mitsuru uttered softly as she turned back around in surprise at the invitation.

Ritsu appeared shocked that his mother of all people would allow this, but he didn’t have it in him to question her for fear she’d change her mind or have another episode. “Y-yes!! Please, Mitchan-san!! Won’t you come in?” He bowed several times in his flustered state.

Mitsuru smiled and nodded. “Okay! Thank you!” She kicked her high heels off at the door and entered the home.

As expected, it was just as gorgeous on the inside as it was on the outside. It made a bit more sense that a home this size was a family home and not just Ritsu’s. Upon reflection, she still had no idea what Ritsu did for a living, but she hoped the closer they got, the more she’d learn about him. She beamed at the mere thought.

“I don’t believe I caught your name earlier.” Ritsu’s mother said in a surprisingly calm tone compared to her earlier manic demeanor.

“Oh! Forgive me! My name is Mitsuru! It is truly an honor to meet you!” she bowed again.

“You may call me, Okami-sama.” His mother said in response while Ritsu followed them both from behind timidly.

“Please, take a seat here.” Ritsu’s mother said motioning to the table in the center of the dining area while doing her best to appear composed. Mitsuru politely obliged and did as the woman asked of her. “Ritsu, dear, won’t you help your feeble old mother and walk with me to the kitchen to help me get the kettle going?”

“Y-yes, of course mother!” Ritsu said nervously while glancing back at Mitsuru as if equally confused what his mother had planned.

Mitsuru smiled and gave a thumbs up at Ritsu as if to ease his worries, which made him smile softly in response.

As Ritsu and Okami were now alone in the kitchen, she tightened the door shut to make sure their conversation would be out of earshot from Mitsuru. She grabbed Ritsu by his shoulders and stared at him intensely trying her best to keep her voice down. “Ritsu, darling, why is someone outside the Sohma family here in our home?! Does this woman know about the curse?!”

“N-no! s-she doesn’t, mother!” He blurted out horrified by the direction this conversation was going, and also with a touch of confusion since she herself was the one who invited Mitsuru into their home in the first place.

“What am I going to do with you my poor only child if Akito-san finds out about this?! You know your father and I have always done our best to make sure you could live a peaceful life free from ridicule and heartbreak! You know how hard it was for the rest of the cursed zodiac members to lose their friends and their memories once their secrets got out? I don’t want the same for you! You don’t want to crush your poor mother’s heart do you?” she said dramatically with an arm pressed against her eyes as she sounded like she was sobbing.

Ritsu’s eyes widened in sympathy at hearing this from his mother and he cupped her hands in his while tears formed in his eyes in return. “M-mother, please don’t cry! O-of course I don’t want to hurt you! I-…” he blushed and looked down as memories of a sheltered childhood with no real friends aside from his fellow Sohma’s came flooding back to his mind. He never complained about it, because he was one of the few lucky ones to have accepting parents unlike some of the others. He knew his poor parents had to apologize a lot on his behalf whenever he did have to be seen in public and was assumed to be a girl by the world because of the way he felt comfortable dressing. The last people on earth he wanted to hurt were his parents. He owed his life to them, and he would apologize every second of his life if he could to atone for that.

“I promise, mother! I will see to it Mitchan-san does not find out about the curse!” he blushed as he tried to find the words to explain that Mitsuru also wanted to become friends. He honestly did not know how his mother would handle that news, but he tried to appear confident for her sake.

Okami hesitated as she looked into her son’s eyes and saw the resolve that reflected in them. She wiped her tears and made her way to the kettle to get the tea going before he could say anything else.

* * *

Mitsuru began fidgeting at the table wondering what was taking so long. She didn’t want to seem rude by knocking on the door to see what the hold up was all about, so she decided as their guest, she would respectfully wait it out.

After several minutes, Okami came out holding a tray with three teacups while Ritsu stood to the side seeming like he had a lot on his mind. It was a miracle Okami managed to set the tray down on the table without breaking anything given her zany state most of the time.

“Sorry for the delay…” Ritsu uttered sheepishly.

“Oh, no worries at all! Thank you very much!” Mitsuru said happily while Okami distributed the teacups for everyone with a bit of a shaky hand.

There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence as Ritsu still wasn’t quite over the tension of his conversation with his mother, who in turn, also seemed like she had a lot of emotions building inside her. Mitsuru looked back and forth between the mother and her son and decided to break the ice.

“You two are very much alike! I definitely see where Ritchan-san gets it from!” she said innocently enough.

Okami and Ritsu both looked like they were about to choke on their drinks as they screamed in unison:

“I AM SO SORRY MY CHILD INHERITED MY BAD QUALITIES! MAY GOD WATCH OVER US SO THAT WE MAY-!”

“I AM SO SORRY MY MOTHER MUST BE COMPARED TO ME! I AM THE WORST CHILD A PARENT COULD ASK FOR-!“

Mitsuru stared in disbelief and interrupted before this shouting match of self-hatred could continue.

“I- I didn’t mean it to be an insult!” She yelled which caused them to stop yelling and drew their attention back onto her. “I just meant, I can tell Ritchan-san loves you very much, Okami-sama, that’s all!” she hoped that statement would be better received.

Ritsu smiled and blushed softly. “Y-yes I _do_ love my mother very much..” He said in agreement with her statement. “I love my father as well, but he is not home at the moment..”

Mitsuru was greatly intrigued at the topic of Ritsu’s father. Could he be just as much of an apologetic person as these two she wondered? “Hm, what’s he like? Is he the one you inherited your beautiful peach-ish brown hair from, Ritchan-san?”

Ritsu’s face flushed at the compliment and also at the reminder that Mitsuru wasn’t aware that members of the zodiac have hair colors that reflect the spirit of the animal they are possessed by, so his hair was rather unnatural compared to his parents who both had jet-black hair.

“U-um…not exactly..- he..-” He uttered before his mother could intervene.

“I AM SO SORRY FOR MY HUSBAND NOT BEING HERE TO MEET YOU! I AM A HORRIBLE HOST! I WILL APOLOGIZE TO THE WORLD FOR HIS WORKING AT THE HOT SPRING FOR ME TODAY INSTEAD OF-“

“Hot spring?” Mitsuru interrupted causing Ritsu to look at her curiously while his mother continued rambling.

“O-oh yes, my family owns a hot spring… today my father is working in place of my mother.. she is feeling rather guilty over it..” he explained.

“A hot spring sounds wonderful! Do you enjoy working there?” She turned to ask Okami hoping this would calm her down.

“A-ah, yes. The hot spring has run in our family for decades. It also doubles as an inn, so business is always thriving.” She said as this topic clearly was one she was proud of and capable of speaking on.

“That’s wonderful! I am so happy for you!” Mitsuru smiled.

“Yes, we are hoping Ritsu will carry on the family business when my husband and I retire.” She said while looking at Ritsu who lowered his head nervously.

Mitsuru studied Ritsu’s expression wondering if he was pushed into accepting this major decision in his life, or if this actually _was_ his passion career wise. She truly did not yet know what Ritsu wanted to do with his life yet.

“Y-yes.” Ritsu choked out rather weakly which made Mitsuru feel sad for him. She decided not to pry at this time for fear she’d say the wrong thing, but it was clear this was a sensitive topic for Ritsu.

“I am sure anything you decide to do, you will be great at, Ritchan-san!” Mitsuru blushed trying to encourage him.

“A-ah! Y-you’re too kind, t-thank you, Mitchan-san!” He said with trembling words as he covered his blush with his kimono sleeves anxiously still not used to receiving such positive compliments.

Okami took another sip of her tea before analyzing Mitsuru still not quite sure what her gain was with her son, but it was clear she had an effect on him, and she was getting a little too close for comfort considering she was an outsider. She wasn’t sure if it was a mistake or a blessing to allow this stranger into her home, but she wanted to find out one way or another if it was the former or the latter.

“Mitsuru-san?” Okami said in an oddly stern tone, which commanded all eyes on her. “What is my Ritsu to you?”

“EH?” Mitsuru and Ritsu both exclaimed in unison with furious blushes on their faces at the forwardness of her question.

Okami’s poker face didn’t once falter which put pressure on Mitsuru to come up with an adequate response fast.

She cleared her throat and spoke, “Up until yesterday, I haven’t truly had someone who I could talk to or who tried to understand and relate with me. I’ve just been a one-track mind woman who’s married to my job and barely let’s my mind entertain the thought of making friends since I’ve always felt I was a burden to those around me. Well yesterday, Ritchan-san pulled me out of that dark mindset and inspired me to live my life for the sake of someone else, and that my life is worth living! I was so touched by those words! I apologize for my rambling, but I suppose what I’m trying to say is, I truly would love nothing more than to be friends with him!”

Okami’s eyes widened and she dropped the teacup onto the table; causing it to shatter to pieces and drip onto the ground.

“M-MOTHER ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” Ritsu proclaimed anxiously as he ran to her side and stared wondering what she was so stunned about while also red in the face from Mitsuru’s speech.

Mitsuru also sat in shock not sure if his mother was taking what she said well or if she had inadvertently said the wrong thing again.

“…you accept my son the way he is..” Okami said breaking her silence as it suddenly dawned on everyone that Ritsu was not once referred to by pronouns until Mitsuru said so.

Okami was always overprotective of her son and couldn’t bare the thought of him being rejected not only because of the zodiac curse, but also because of the way he presented himself. She loved him unconditionally and only wanted him to be happy, which was why she allowed Mitsuru into the house in the first place since she could tell Ritsu was disappointed earlier when she was attempting to leave. Despite all odds, even though the rational half of her didn’t want Mitsuru to get involved with the Sohma family, she had passed the test. She was worthy of being a source of happiness in her son’s lonely sheltered life.

Mitsuru nodded sincerely with a smile in response. “Yes I do! Ritchan-san is perfect the way he is; kimono and all! I sincerely hope you will allow me to be his friend.” She bowed her entire body on the ground respectfully hoping Okami would not deny her request.

Ritsu was sobbing his eyes out and trying so hard not to have a nervous breakdown as the high praise and positivity directed at him was about ready to make him reach his breaking point.

“Mitsuru-san. Please treat my son well, he means the absolute world to me.” Okami said confirming her answer as soft melancholy tears were also welling up in her eyes.

And that was the breaking point. Ritsu stood up and shouted. “MOTHER!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I DON’T DESERVE A FRIEND AS WONDERFUL AS MITCHAN-SAN, BUT I HOPE YOU WILL SEE IN HER WHAT I SEE AND-!“ he blushed immensely as he realized the implications in what he said as he stared at his mother who stared at him in bewilderment.

He covered his face in his embarrassment. “I-I’M SORRY! I WILL APOLOGIZE TO THE WORLD FOR MY OVERREACTION! MITCHAN-SAN I’M SORRY! I WILL APOLOGIZE FOR EMBARRASING YOU IN FRONT OF MY MOTHER AND-!”

As Mitsuru watched Ritsu have his hysterical episode, a sudden reminder popped into her head. She approached Ritsu cautiously while he was flailing around and gave him a simple poke in his side; causing him to stop in his tracks and practically melt to the ground in a puddle.

“A-ah! How did you-!” Ritsu said flustered as he lay on the ground in surprise by her action.

Mitsuru chuckled as she recalled the piece of paper given to her by Shigure. At the bottom in terrible writing that quite frankly she was surprised she could even make out, it made a mention of this at the bottom. _‘When Ritchan gets too frazzled, a poke to his side will calm him down.’_

She was increasingly surprised that Shigure had managed to pull through for her yet again given how much he loved to torture her for his own sick twisted amusement. She was sure he had some ulterior agenda and that now that she and Ritsu were friends; from here on out he wouldn’t owe her anything anymore and start treating her worse. She shook her head to stop herself from allowing Shigure to occupy any more space in her brain than he already had, which sadly, was a lot.

“RITSU, DEAR, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!” Okami yelled as she grabbed one of his hands and knelt beside him.

Ritsu smiled softly and looked up at Mitsuru while squeezing his mother’s hand softly to assure her. ”Yes, I am. More than you know. Thank you, mother.” He said as he looked at Mitsuru with warm tender eyes.

Mitsuru wiped away a tear from her eyes and smiled feeling so happy by the turn of events. Ritsu Sohma was her friend, and she was so thankful for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh okay so i hope this was good! I seriously love Ritsu so much and i wanted to have his mother personally accept Mitsuru despite the fact she is super cautious given the curse and everything, so there will still be drama and tension with that later! XD


	3. Spending Time Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 3! I was a little worried while writing this one because I was worried I wrote myself into a bit of a plot hole with having Mitsuru enter the Sohma estate, but then I thought about it and I realized its a minor thing that hopefully nobody will care about, and also it’s a fanfiction so I can do what I want XD I will try my best to make things feel as close to canon as I can though!

* * *

As Mitsuru’s visit drew to it’s close and she felt she had taken enough of their time and thankfully at least gotten what she came for by receiving Okami’s approval to begin a friendship with Ritsu, she bowed respectfully and headed towards the doorway and began putting her high heels back on. Okami waved and bid her farewell and headed back up the stairs leaving Ritsu alone to say goodbye to his new friend. He hesitated for a moment before taking a few shaky steps forward.

“W-wait, Mitchan-san!” Ritsu called out as he approached her by the entrance with trembling hands as if what he wanted to say was requiring him to summon all the courage he had.

“Yes, Ritchan-san?” She asked with soft curiosity as she noted his nervousness.

“U-um… I-.. you-..would you…I mean-! I!...” He fumbled around with his words while clutching at his kimono sleeves in a tizzy.

“Ritchan-san, it’s okay! Whatever it is you can tell me! We’re friends now, remember?” She said happily hoping she could start helping him overcome his intense anxiety and get him to feel more open when speaking with her.

He blushed and tried his best to take her advice. ”Um.. the day is still bright outside.. w-would you like to..” His eyes widened manically as despite his best efforts, he reverted back into panic mode. “GAH, WHAT AM I THINKING? A WORTHLESS PERSON LIKE ME SHOULDN’T BE ASKING TO TAKE UP ANY MORE OF YOUR TIME THAN YOU’VE ALREADY SACRIFICED TODAY! YOU PROBABLY HAVE SO MUCH WORK TO DO AND I’M PREVENTING YOU FROM DOING IT! I AM SO SORRY FOR WASTING YOUR TIME! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!!-“

Mitsuru instantly shot up and grabbed his hands, which made him flush. “Ritchan-san! Take a deep breath!” She ordered of him, which he obeyed with wide eyes. “Today is my day off, so you are not preventing me from a single thing! In fact, I would love nothing more than to continue spending time with you!” She said hoping her serious tone of voice would make him understand he was anything but an inconvenience.

There was a pause as they stared into each other’s eyes before Mitsuru blinked and looked down at their hands and blushed as she hastily released the hold and let her arms drop back down to her sides embarrassedly. Ritsu lifted one of his now free hands up to wipe away a tear he’d worked up and nodded softly; relieved by her words despite still thinking he didn’t deserve to spend more time with her. “T-thank you very much, Mitchan-san..” he said with a tearful smile.

She smiled in return and blushed as she realized how bold she probably seemed by grabbing his hands like that, but in her quick thinking of wanting to calm him down, that was the first thing her body reflexively decided to do. She hoped he wasn’t bothered by it, so she quickly tried to return back to the topic at hand. “So, what would you like to do?” She asked sweetly.

She could tell he was on the brink of another meltdown as his expression made it obvious he hadn’t planned an activity ahead of time, so she knew it was up to her to decide quickly before that could happen.

“O-Oh, I know!! How about we walk around the estate! Your home is so lovely I would love to enjoy taking in the sights with you!”

“OKAY!” He exclaimed frantically as it was clearly in his nature that he wouldn’t disagree with whatever Mitsuru wanted to do. She giggled a little at that thought and hoped eventually he would be more willing to share in making decisions for future get-togethers, but for today she was happy with anything they did.

Ritsu put his sandals on nervously and they stepped out of the house.

Mitsuru extended her arms in a stretch and took in the fresh air. “Ah! It’s so beautiful! Do you enjoy living here?” She said politely to invoke conversation.

Ritsu paused as if contemplating her question then nodded sweetly as they began walking through the garden path. “Y-yes. The Sohma estate is very large, so having a home outside the main building is quite peaceful..” He looked at Mitsuru who seemed rather intrigued by this topic.

She had thought it odd that Ritsu’s house was rather hidden and quite hard to actually access, as it was practically cut off from the grid. Unbeknownst to her, however, Shigure had actually given her an address with instructions that allowed her to enter without being detected by the main estate.

It suddenly started to make sense why Okami seemed startled by the fact she managed to find their home. Mitsuru put a finger to her chin as if she was deep in thought.

“Hm, come to think of it, Ritchan-san, you said you were a relative of Shigure-sensei, is that correct?”

“Y-yes that is right..” He answered thinking her question was at least harmless enough since she technically already knew that fact. Suddenly his eyes widened and he gulped now wondering if he was revealing too much and began to panic at the thought of answering questions pertaining to the family. Was she going to ask why Shigure and the others didn’t live in the estate since they were Sohma’s as well? His mind began racing, as he feared what she was going to say next. His heart thumped loudly in his chest for every second of silence before she responded.

“How is it possible that sadistic man is related to such a sweet person like you?” She said with a cute giggle, which made Ritsu clutch his raging heart while internally exhaling with immense relief that she didn’t ask something more difficult to disclose. He blushed at the compliment and blurted, “A-ah!! I don’t know!! I am so sorry Shigure-niisan is so mean to you, Mitchan-san!! I don’t know why he enjoys making you suffer!!” He bowed apologetically several times on Shigure’s behalf.

She knelt down and began smelling the flowers and smiled sweetly up at Ritsu. “Even though that man is probably going to be the death of me someday, I suppose I owe it to him for at least helping me find this place! I was so worried after I left yesterday that I’d ruined my chances of meeting with you again..” She admitted sort of sheepishly and with a hint of guilt.

Ritsu noted the change in atmosphere and stared at her with soft compassionate eyes as he could tell this was something that was eating away at her, and it hurt him to see her this way. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel she had to bare the guilt on her own. “Mitchan-san..”

Before he could say more, she could tell she was making things more emotional and heavy than they needed to be, so she rose back onto her feet and cleared her throat trying to change the subject. “Ah well, I suppose there’s no use dwelling on the, ‘what could have been’s’ right? We’re here now and that’s what matters, right?” She smiled gleefully while attempting to cover up for her previous somber demeanor.

“R-right.” Ritsu replied a little unsurely trying to get a read on her but failing as she did a good job masking it. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable though, so he didn’t try to return to that topic.

* * *

The next few hours were spent in peaceful tranquility as they enjoyed each other’s company walking around and taking in the sights. Their conversations mostly consisted of Mitsuru discussing her job and the dozens of stories she had of Shigure torturing her, which made Ritsu wince in horror that Shigure could be so heartless. Meanwhile, Ritsu chose to be more of a listening than a speaker; only speaking when explaining something within their surroundings or making comments in response to her stories to show he was genuinely interested in what she was saying.

Mitsuru chuckled embarrassedly seemingly catching on that she was doing most of the talking. “Sorry I’ve been such a chatterbox! I’m sure you’re tired of listening to me rant about-“

“N-NOT AT ALL! I LIKE LISTENING TO WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY, MITCHAN-SAN! IF ANYTHING I AM THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE SORRY FOR NOT ADDING MUCH TO THE CONVERSATION! YOU PROBABLY THINK I’M SO BORING! PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF I AM BORING YOU! I AM THE WORST FRIEND I DON’T DESERVE-!” Ritsu shouted anxiously while pulling his hair.

“Ritchan-san!” Mitsuru shouted appalled by what she was hearing while stepping closer; mindful not to take hold of his hands this time for fear of making him uncomfortable. “I’m sorry for raising my voice, but please stop viewing yourself in such a negative light! I know we’re still just getting to know each other, and I know I can’t tell you how to feel, but I just want you to feel more at ease around me and not assume I think such horrible things about you, because it’s simply not true!” She looked at him earnestly but with seriousness in her tone to hammer it more in his head. “You are a wonderful friend already, and I only hope as time goes on you will start to believe that.” She blushed a little at her words.

He stared at her in shock by her stern tone and tried his best to believe the words she was saying were true, which made his cheeks became a deep shade of crimson. He began getting flashbacks of yesterday when Shigure was trying to help him stop with the over-apologizing. He put a hand over his chest and exhaled; releasing his anxieties, as he knew he’d have to make a stronger effort to pass Shigure’s challenge if he was going to be worthy of being Mitsuru’s friend. “I-I’m sorry.. I will try my best not to assume the worst all the time, Mitchan-san..”

“And I will do my best to help you one step at a time as well!” Mitsuru smiled before noticing the sun was setting. “Ah, it’s getting late..” She said with disappointment as if knowing this was where they’d have to part ways for the day.

Ritsu looked up and noticed this as well. He paused for a moment then remembered how he’d wanted to walk her home yesterday but lost his nerve. He decided today he would make up for that and start proving he could be brave. “Mitchan-san, may I walk you home?” He said gently without stuttering nervously as he did yesterday. 

Mitsuru seemed pleasantly surprised by his offer and smiled happily accepting. “Of course! Thank you so much, Ritchan-san!”

Ritsu smiled in return and began walking side by side with her. Her home was a bit of a walk from his house, but he didn’t seem to mind one bit since this gave them more time to talk and enjoy each other’s company.

The walk was mostly filled with comfortable silence, and when they’d finally made it to her house, Ritsu was impressed. It was a nice apartment complex that seemed perfect for her since on the walk, she’d pointed out where the writing agency building she worked for was, so her home was very close and convenient.

“You live here alone?” He asked innocently as they walked up the stairs and made it to her door.

“Yes, I moved out of my parents home when I became an editor, so it’s been about a year and a half or so!” She said cheerfully as she dug her keys out of her purse.

“That is wonderful, Mitchan-san. They must be very proud of you.” He complimented sincerely.

“Thank you! I sure hope so after all the headaches I’ve had to endure from my job, ah hah!” She laughed as she realized a lot of her jokes were cries for help.

Ritsu seemed oblivious as he chuckled a little as well, probably just as a response of imitating her since she was the one who started laughing.

“Well anyways! Now you know where I live, so you can feel free to come over anytime! Oh! Actually I should give you my phone number too since sometimes I’m at the office all night!” Mitsuru said as she fumbled around her purse to grab a piece of paper and a pen and began writing it down. “Here!” she handed him her contact information which made him blush a little since this was the first time anyone had ever given him a phone number and he felt honored she was entrusting him with it.

“T-thank you, Mitchan-san, I will take good care of this.” He said as he clutched the paper in both hands like it was the most important thing anyone ever gave him.

Mitsuru lifted a hand up to her mouth as she giggled at his cute reaction. “Hehe, good! Thank you so much for today, I truly had a great time! Your mother was very sweet too, I am so grateful she allowed me to be your friend!”

“T-the pleasure was all mine, really! T-thank you so much for everything today, Mitchan-san! I am grateful to be your friend too!” he bowed several times flustered.

Mitsuru smiled and entered her home and waved. “Please be safe getting home, Ritchan-san. Goodnight!”

“I will, thank you! Goodnight, Mitchan-san!” He said as she smiled once more and closed the door. He began walking down the stairs while staring at the phone number in his hands with a big smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay there we go! Like I say, I was a little worried about this one, but I hope it was still cute and fluffy and whatnot! Also I’m sorry I didn’t totally expand on their conversations, but I will save those for future chapters, as they get closer! Please review and give me your thoughts! I hope you enjoy! :D


	4. Kimonos and Monkeys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this chapter is a bit longer than my previous ones, so I apologize right off the bat for that, but I sincerely think this is the chapter I am most excited about so far! Ahhh I’ll include more notes at the end so I wont spoil anything here lolol but I hope you are prepared for the ANGST!!!!! XD Also i want to give a shoutout to modzy78 because aside from my older sister and my friend John, (Who i am dragging along with me into loving this ship XD) it's people like you who motivate to continue, so thank you so much for your comments and kudos! It means a lot! ^_^

* * *

The next day, Mitsuru was sitting at her desk at the office working on miscellaneous projects and making ends meet when suddenly her cell phone started ringing. She stared down at her phone with confusion when a sudden hopeful thought entered her mind.

_“Ah, it’s from an unknown number. I wonder if it’s Ritchan-san?”_ She thought as she scanned the area a few times worriedly hoping she wouldn’t be caught taking personal calls at work. She answered the call and brought the phone very close to her face and spoke in a somewhat hushed whisper. “H-hello?”

“M-Mitchan-san, are you alright?! You sound like you’re in distress!! Have I called at a bad time?! I AM SO SORRY IF I CAUSED YOU ANY INCONVENIENCE! I AM SO-!“

Mitsuru lifted the phone away from her ear a little as Ritsu screamed over the phone, but she quickly brought it right back and intervened to ease his worries as she promptly stepped out of the office and into the hallway so she wouldn’t disturb her fellow employees. “No, no please Ritchan-san, it’s okay! I’m just at the office right now, but it’s not a problem at all, I didn’t tell you I had to work today so it’s my fault for not telling you! I can talk for a moment, really! Please, I want to listen to what you have to say!” She said in a semi louder tone but still hushed a bit.

She could tell Ritsu felt so bad calling her while she was at work, but he managed to compose himself, as it seemed her words worked the charm this time. He cleared his throat and spoke. “I.. was just wondering if you would like to spend more time together… perhaps I can show you how to wear a kimono as you suggested.. A-ah! W-when you have time for it of course! I am so sorry for calling you when you are busy!” Even though Mitsuru wasn’t in the same room as Ritsu, she could clearly hear objects being knocked around on the other line.

Her eyes widened a little as she considered his idea. She thought about how fun it would be to get all dolled up in attire she normally thought she could never in a million years pull off since she’d never been the most feminine girl out there in her honest opinion. The thought of partaking in an activity that meant so much to Ritsu and learning more about him made her beam with excitement. She hoped on top of gaining confidence in herself to tap into her feminine side, in the process, this would also help bring her and Ritsu’s friendship closer.

“That sounds absolutely delightful! I would love nothing more!” She expressed with a cheerful voice then lifted her arm up to look at her watch. “Hmm, I have to work for 2 more hours, but when I get off I’d love to go! Where would you like to meet up?”

“I- I know a wonderful place I would love to take you to! It is not very far where you are, so perhaps I can meet you outside your work and take you there…” he said with flustered confidence.

Mitsuru was happy he was starting to come out of his shell a little more and was proud of the strides he was making in such a short amount of time. “I can’t wait, Ritchan-san! I will see you in a little bit then!”

“I- I can’t wait either! See you, Mitchan-san!” He exclaimed as they both finished saying their goodbyes and hung up the phone mutually at the same time.

Mitsuru lowered her phone and hugged it close to her chest a bit; inwardly thrilled as her mind began playing out scenarios for how their evening would play out.

Little did she know.

* * *

Approximately 2 hours later, Mitsuru began packing her things up in her purse, and as if on cue, one of her fellow coworkers came into the room as she was getting ready to clock out for the day.

“Hey, Mitsuru-chan, there’s a woman who claims to know you waiting for you outside the building, so we told her you’d be right out. She seemed kinda timid and cute, who is she?” He said with a blush as he jabbed her in the shoulder as if he wanted her to put in a good word for him or something.

Mitsuru blinked in disbelief as she decided she didn’t like his suggestive tone. She removed his elbow off her arm delicately then spoke with mild annoyance. “As a matter of fact, that is my new friend, Ritchan-san if you must know, now excuse me I must be going.” She walked a little faster with a spring in her step not wanting to keep Ritsu waiting any longer or continue this pointless conversation.

She could tell her coworker wanted to keep pestering, but she left before he got a chance to make more snide remarks.

She ran down the stairs of the agency and opened the doors wide.

“Mitchan-san!” Ritsu said cheerfully as she stepped out and appeared before him.

“Ritchan-san! It’s so great to see you again! I am so terribly sorry if my coworkers bothered you!” She folded her arms and apologized sincerely hoping he was not harassed.

“N-not at all! They were very nice to me!” He said innocently as if not understanding the implications that they were likely flirting with him.

She sighed with relief and smiled as she decided not to waste time thinking about it anymore. “In any case, I can’t wait to learn from the master on how to wear a kimono!” She complimented while her arms were wrapped behind her back cutely.

“M-master? A-ah you are too kind, you give me too much credit!” he said as he covered his face with his kimono sleeves as if he was really that modest and didn’t realize just how gorgeous he was.

“Let’s go, shall we?” She giggled at his reaction.

“Y-yes of course!” He exclaimed as they began walking.

* * *

“Ah, Ritsu-chan! You brought a friend!” The short petite employee with long hooped pigtails said eagerly as she rushed towards them as they entered his favorite kimono shop.

“H-hello, Miu-chan. It is a pleasure to see you again.” Ritsu bowed his head politely and smiled at the woman.

Mitsuru observed the peppy woman before her and realized she must be very acquainted with Ritsu since they were using honorifics and seemed to know each other very well, so she followed suit and bowed her head. “H-hello! My name is Mitsuru, it is an honor to be here!” she said as she suddenly started to feel unworthy.

“Mitsuru-chan, huh? Well it’s nice to meet you! So, what brings you two here today?” she clasped her hands together eagerly waiting to help.

“I was going to help Mitchan-san learn how to where a kimono.. so I figured this was the best place to-“  
  


 _“Mitchan-san?!”_ She mimicked and tugged at her pigtails while squealing a bit like a fangirl. “Oh my gosh, Ritsu-chan that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard! Aaa~hh! Well I will be happy to advise as well if you need _any_ help at all!”

Ritsu’s entire face flushed and his lips quivered a little clearly from the girl’s hyperactive matchmaking behavior.

Mitsuru also blushed and quickly tried to lessen the awkward tension. “T-thank you, Miu-chan!” She hastily ran over to observe some of the kimonos on display trying to do anything she could to direct the attention off it.

Ritsu slowly followed Mitsuru from behind seemingly stripped from the ability to speak as his head still hung low and a dreary aura seemed to engulf him.

“A-ah what do you think of this one, Ritchan-s-“ she cut herself off not wanting Miu to hear her use the same cute honorific. “Ritsu-san.” she corrected herself a bit weakly while trying to appear as excited as she had been earlier.

Ritsu’s head perked up as he noted the change in honorific and felt disheartened by it. He spoke softly. “I…I think it’s a lovely kimono, Mitsuru-san.” He also corrected sheepishly now worried thinking he had embarrassed her.

Mitsuru turned around and looked with sad eyes as she noted how Ritsu’s entire mood seemed to change. She internally winced in pain a little, as she didn’t realize how powerful the simple act of changing to using less interpersonal honorifics truly was.

She tried her best to overcome the tension not wanting anything to ruin what was supposed to be an otherwise great evening. She turned back and looked at the kimono, taking a sleeve in her hand and feeling the material. “..Could someone like me actually look good wearing something this beautiful..?” She uttered then widened her eyes and covered a hand over her mouth as she realized she was accidently vocalizing her thoughts of self-deprecation.

“O-OF COURSE YOU WOULD! I THINK IT WOULD LOOK LOVELY ON YOU MITCHA- I-I-MEAN, MITSURU-SAN!!” He clutched his head manically while looking like he was fighting off tears. While it was sadly normal for him to cry over small mishaps, this time he seemed genuinely upset.

Miu came running over to resolve the situation, as she happened to overhear Mitsuru prior to Ritsu’s yelling. “Ah, so we’ve got a little lack of self esteem, huh?” She approached Mitsuru with a thought-provoking finger on her chin. “Why don’t you tell us _why_ you don’t think you’d look good in this, Mitsuru-chan?” Her sweet smile seemed to mask the fact she was a hidden master in armchair psychology.

“E-EH?!” Mitsuru exclaimed not quite ready for such a direct question. She shifted her gaze on Ritsu and saw his heartbreaking expression, and as much as it pained her to see him that way, she decided she would open up about her inner anxieties about herself so he could better understand her, so she answered honestly.

“Well, ever since I was a little girl I’ve been a bit headstrong and more of a tomboy I suppose. I was always teased for preferring to have short hair and not being very-…” Her face reddened, as she didn’t want to get _too_ personal so she changed the word at the last second. “F-feminine compared to the other girls in my school. I’ve never had the confidence to wear something so beautiful. ”

Ritsu stared at her with his mouth open in shock by what he was hearing, but also with deeply sympathetic eyes as her story hit close to home to his childhood but with reversed roles.

“Mitsuru-chan, _tsk, tsk_.” She said as she waved a pointed finger around. “Do me a favor and look in the mirror over there, okay?”

Mitsuru blushed as she reluctantly did as Miu said and stared at herself in the full-length mirror with a bit of a lowered lip as if she wasn’t seeing the point.

“In that mirror I see a beautiful woman who is trying to do something new and exciting that’s outside her usual comfort zone, which is super brave of her, and I think she’ll totally be able to do it since she’s getting advice from Ritsu-chan, who also happens to be my favorite customer!” She said gleefully as she extended an arm to point at Ritsu in the mirror who in response, cowered away and hid so he wouldn’t be visible as he was completely flustered by this.

Mitsuru blushed by the praise as she stared in the mirror feeling oddly like Miu’s words of encouragement were sort of working as strange as her methods were. She remembered how excited she was to actually try getting dressed up earlier, and decided she had no right to be negative now and ruin her outing with Ritsu. She lifted her arms up with balled up fists as she had a new resolve. “Y-you’re right, Miu-chan! I will have more confidence and wear a kimono!”  
  


“That’s the spirit!” Miu said as she walked over to Ritsu and smiled happily with folded arms. “Well go ahead and do your thing, Ritsu-chan! Help her realize she’s beautiful!”

“O-okay!” He yelped out nervously with a red face as he approached Mitsuru and spent the next few minutes advising her on which ones would go best with matching her hair and eyes.

They both picked one that they thought was perfect, and Mitsuru went into the changing room to try it on. It was a bit complicated since there were a lot of parts that had to be fastened and hooked a specific way, so that was where Miu came in to help her properly put it on in the changing room since the very idea of entering the room made Ritsu’s face burn up.

Mitsuru stepped out wearing a gorgeous blue-ish purple kimono with a detailed galaxy pattern. She didn’t want to look in the mirror yet and instead opted to let Ritsu’s reaction decide how she felt about it.

“…W-what do you think?” She said in a soft unsure tone as she shifted her eyes off the floor and up onto Ritsu who stood completely silenced with his jaw dropped and deep pink tinted cheeks.

“M..Mitsuru-san. You look… breathtaking.” He admitted with surprise and sincerity in his voice as he nervously began fumbling with his long hair strands in the front worried he’d said the wrong thing.

Mitsuru stood in awe of his sweet compliment and let it sort of sink in for a moment. She decided to look in the mirror to see for herself, so she walked closer and seemed shocked by the reflection she was seeing stare back at her. She put a hand up against the glass and truly allowed herself to appreciate herself for the first time in who knows how long.“….I… I love this.” She admitted with a blush as Ritsu’s compliment echoed into her mind again.

“See? I told you! You had nothing to worry about, Mitsuru-chan!” Miu said triumphantly as she walked closer and patted her on the back. “As long as you yourself feel happy with how you look, that’s all that matters! Although I’m sure it helps that Ritsu-chan thinks you’re ‘breathtaking’ to boot! Ah ha~ha!”

Mitsuru and Ritsu both flushed at this and she quickly walked over to the counter to tender them out. “Okay anything else you need today? Hehe!”

It was at that moment Mitsuru looked at the price tag for the first time and almost felt her soul suck out of her body as she read the price over and over in her mind hoping she was mistaken, but after everything they went through to get this far, she could not dare back out now. “O-of course!..” She fished her credit card out of her wallet and swiped it apprehensively with a shaky hand as if she didn’t have bills to pay. She shook her head and decided purchasing this kimono was for a good cause, so it was worth it to treat herself for once.

“Alright that payment went straight through!” Miu said as she handed Mitsuru the receipt while sticking a playful tongue out as if she knew Mitsuru was cringing at spending that much money. “Have a wonderful day, you t~wo!” She cupped her hands in her cheeks as she watched them leave rather frazzled.

* * *

“A-ah, well that was fun!” Mitsuru said hoping this would lessen the tension and try to bring back the prior optimistic atmosphere despite things still feeling awkward as they left the kimono shop and began walking idly around the city now.

Ritsu was completely silent as he stared at the floor with every step they took as he trailed a bit behind her, still red faced before breaking his silence after awhile. “S-sorry about Miu-chan. She’s really a sweet girl at heart, so I hope you were not uncomfortable by her antics…”

“I-it’s okay! She did help me feel more confident in myself, so I suppose I have to thank her for that! Also, you certainly helped a lot too!” She blushed as she continued walking ahead remembering his words from before and smiled.

“…I am glad that I could- KYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!” He shrieked loudly in horror causing Mitsuru to turn around swiftly fearful that he hurt himself, but nothing; absolutely nothing could prepare her for what she turned around and witnessed.

A monkey had leapt onto Ritsu’s shoulder and wrapped its tail around his neck while he ducked down clutching the back of his head shaking in terror.

“A-AHHHH! H-HOLD STILL!” Mitsuru exclaimed completely dumbfounded by the sudden and quite baffling turn of events as she hesitantly stepped behind Ritsu and, despite her fears, gripped the monkey in both hands. She was honestly terrified to be touching a wild animal, let alone a wild monkey that might be vicious, but she couldn’t stand the thought of this wild animal hurting poor Ritsu. The monkey did not ease up as her efforts only caused it to grip tighter to Ritsu’s neck and refuse to be removed.

“W-what in the world is-!! H-how did-!!” Mitsuru spoke frantically as she began looking around wondering how on earth a wild monkey even ended up in the city in the first place, then a sudden light bulb went off in her head as she thought she had an explanation. “I-I think there’s a zoo nearby! M-maybe this little guy escaped?!” The fear in her voice didn’t let up.

“I-I-I am so SO sorry, Mitsuru-san!” He cried, as he could no longer keep himself composed from all the negative thoughts that had been building inside him. “I have ruined this day so badly! I am the worst-!”

She could not allow any other conversations to take priority as the only thing on her mind was getting this monkey off him, so she interrupted before he could continue. “H-hurry!! Let’s go and find the zoo this instant!!!!” She screamed as she took his hand in hers and began running full speed ahead while he did his best to keep up with her pace as tears streamed down his face.

Along the way, another monkey appeared and latched itself onto Ritsu’s leg, causing him to let go of Mitsuru’s hand and lose his footing as he fell. “AHHHHHHHH!” He screamed as Mitsuru once again turned around, startled by his scream, and started gripping at her hair with wide eyes.

“WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!?” She screamed now completely astonished and bewildered why yet _another_ monkey of all things appeared and clung to Ritsu.

He sniffled sadly as he lay on the ground as the monkey on his leg now crawled up and joined the other one on his opposite shoulder.

“A-ARE YOU OKAY??” She extended a hand out noticing he had a bruise on his cheek from hitting the ground.

“I-I am okay!” He choked out sadly while rubbing his cheek as he kept crying. He managed to stand up and accepted her hand once more.

She took in the mental image for a moment of Ritsu with two little monkeys on his shoulders and could not believe how this day was shaping out to be. Once more she shook her head as she tried to return to the task at hand and hurriedly continued trying to make it to the zoo.

* * *

The passersby on the streets certainly got quite the show as Mitsuru and Ritsu bolted as fast as they could while they were both hollering as the monkeys clung onto him tighter.

Finally as they made it to the zoo, Mitsuru didn’t even bother paying or waiting in the line as she figured the situation was dire enough to speak for itself as she pulled his hand along.

Ritsu’s eyes shot wide open as he realized if she continued dragging him like this, there was a chance a woman would hug him accidently since it was quite a crowded area. “MITSURU-SAN! W-WAIT, PLEASE STOP!” He screamed causing her to stop dead in her tracks.

“W-What is it?!” She said still scatter-brained while catching her breath and mentally noting he was still referring to her formally.

“I-I can’t go in there…p-please can you… go in for me and..”

“What are you saying?! We don’t have time to be picky, lets hurry up and get in there already!!” She said not seeming to understand his apprehension as she tried yet again to tug him along.

He pulled his hand away and quivered his lip, as he knew he had to be blunt or else he’d risk his secret getting out. “N-NO! I-I JUST CAN’T!” He slapped his hands over his mouth as if even he himself was shocked he had yelled at her like that.

Mitsuru was taken aback by his uncharacteristic tone and began scratching her hair in her hands as she decided she’d have to take matters into her own hands. “O-okay, f-fine! I’ll just tell the guard and have them bring out the zookeepers or something! W-wait here!” She said as she ran over to the guard and explained the situation.

Ritsu stood outside the gate feeling absolutely horrible for how things had transpired. He knew he could never explain the truth, but he hoped Mitsuru would understand someday in her own way.

Before he knew it, two zookeepers, who were thankfully male in case anything went wrong, appeared before him with two cages and gloves on. “How on earth did you escape, Saru and Tobi?” The one guard said as he began removing the monkeys with more success than Mitsuru had which made her pout a bit.

“Sorry about this, ma’am!” The other guard said as he looked down at Ritsu. “I have no idea how these two crazy little monks got out! We can offer you and your friend here complimentary tickets to the zoo as compensation if you’d like?” He said in a tone of voice that seemed he was trying to be chummy with Ritsu.

Ritsu looked at the guard shaken to the core and yelled in a frightened tone as if that was the last thing he wanted as he sat still clutching his hair. “N-NO!”

Mitsuru stared at Ritsu curiously wondering why he was so adamant that he couldn’t enter? Perhaps he didn’t want to risk the monkeys attacking the other people? That seemed like a probable explanation. After all, Ritsu was the type who seemed he’d rather take the pain for the sake of others. The only other explanation she seemed to come up with was, perhaps he had a fear of crowds?

Once the monkeys were safely removed and put back into the cages, the zookeepers once again apologized and Ritsu dusted himself off as he was still bruised a bit from the earlier fall.

Mitsuru ran over to him; placing a hand on his bruised cheek and stroked it a bit with her thumb as she looked at him with a pained expression to see him in such a state. “A-are you sure you’re okay??”

“I’m fine, Mitsuru-san..” He uttered weakly as his eyes still appeared teary while also blushing a tiny bit by her physical contact.

At hearing this, she finally decided now was a better opportunity to address the tension that was happening between them as she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“R-Ritchan-san, I’m sorry about the kimono shop! I was so worried Miu-chan was making you feel uncomfortable.. That’s why I called you Ritsu-san while we were there instead of Ritchan-san. I don’t like feeling like things are strained between us, so I would like to return to how we were if you are willing..” she said with immense guilt hoping he would accept.

He stared at her with wide eyes as he was not expecting her to feel this way. If anything he was worried he was the one who made her uncomfortable instead.

“Mitchan-san.. o-of course. I want to go back to how we were too… I am so sorry for how this day turned out, but… if its any consolation, you.. you really are beautiful like Miu-chan said..” He lowered his head embarrassed as if he was realizing what he was saying. “A-ah I’m sorry…”

Mitsuru looked at Ritsu with a red face by his sweet words as she knew this was all so new to him. She got the feeling he was just trying to be as supportive and encouraging the same way as Miu was to her, so she put a hand on Ritsu’s shoulder and smiled. “Thank you, Ritchan-san. I know I was down on myself before, but I think today really helped me learn to like myself a bit more. I am so grateful!”

Ritsu blushed and felt immensely relieved. “I am so glad to hear that, Mitchan-san..”

“If anything else, today is certainly a day I’m sure neither one of us will forget any time soon!” She giggled a little unsurely since she wasn’t sure if he was truly okay from the monkey mishap, but she could tell he probably didn’t want to discuss it anymore so she tried to end on a more positive note. “You know, Ritchan-san, I would love to help you feel more confident with yourself next time!”

Ritsu blushed as inwardly he was already starting to feel a change within himself that he couldn’t quite express, but he could feel it. He paused for a while before speaking.

“T-thank you, Mitchan-san.” He said softly as they began walking in the direction of her home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I’m sorry this chapter was longer, but I hope you liked it cause I had so much fun writing it! XD The OC character I made for this chapter is named Miu, who I named after Miu Iruma from Danganronpa V3. (Although my Miu is NOTHING like that Miu lmao) Honestly I wanted to have them try on outfits at Ayame’s shop, but then I remembered his shop is more of a, *ahem*, novelty shop, and also as much as I adore Ayame, I am not very confident in my ability to write him properly lol, so I decided to just make an OC. Hopefully she was good despite being a bit forward! I figured Mitsuru and Ritsu needed someone like her to help push them along a bit XD Although I do have plans for a certain someone to make her grand entrance to this messy situation at some point soon hehehe. Thank you for reading!!!


	5. Kagura-chan?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I am super excited for this chapter because I bring Kagura the protective loving “sister” of Ritsu along for the ride! 
> 
> In real life, I am the boar in the Chinese Zodiac, (1995) and my sister Megan is a monkey (1992) so Ritsu and Kagura’s dynamic is very special to me. XD I keep telling her how lucky she freaking is to be the monkey because Ritsu is literally my favorite of the Sohma’s at this point XD (It used to be Momiji and Kyo, who granted I do still love a lot) but Ritsu is the sweetest most precious character in all of Fruits Basket in my humble opinion and I just love him with all my heart and soul and I wish he got so much more cause he is so painfully underutilized. X_X

* * *

After Ritsu said goodbye to Mitsuru for the day and turned to head back home, his mind began racing with all sorts of thoughts as the events of the day all scattered around in his brain in an antsy disorganized manner.

He lowered his head in shame that things had gotten so out of hand and grew increasingly fearful that an incident similar to what happened today would happen again.

It wasn’t out of the ordinary for monkeys to be drawn to him since it was just a side effect of the Chinese Zodiac curse, but luckily since monkeys aren’t as common of an animal, he didn’t have to deal with this minor discrepancy as often as, say, Kyo or Yuki for instance, so he tried to chock up today as a freak accident. However, he knew he likely wouldn’t get a free pass if it happened again. Would she start to question and figure things out somehow?

He shivered at the thought as he recalled the downright terror in Mitsuru’s eyes as she watched the monkeys prance all over him. He couldn’t bare the thought of striking fear in her on his behalf like that ever again. Perhaps this was a sign he needed to be more cautious. Maybe someone like him didn’t deserve to get close to her after all.

_“You know Ritchan-san, I would love to help you feel more confident with yourself next time!”_

He winced a little as Mitsuru’s sentiments from earlier echoed in the back of his mind just to taunt him. He knew she wouldn’t like that he was internally allowing his negative thoughts to consume him again, but he truly didn’t have any healthy coping mechanisms when he went into these states.

His hands trembled as he opened the door when he arrived back home.

_“I wonder… if someone like me could ever even learn how to be more confident..”_

* * *

Over the course of the next week and a half, Mitsuru and Ritsu only kept in contact via phone calls. Their calls weren’t always long, but he still enjoyed hearing from her and vice versa. The truth was, the calls were sort of Ritsu’s solution towards keeping their friendship while also not having to worry about meeting in person. He felt so guilty that he was semi-avoiding her in this way.

“So how are things going for you at the University, Ritchan-san?” Mitsuru happily inquired over the line. “Seems like it’s been keeping you pretty busy these days, huh?”

“A-ah, it’s all going very well, thank you for asking! Yes, I have been quite preoccupied lately..” It was true enough that in his personal life, he was taking his studies seriously, so he hoped that answer was honest enough.

“Yeah, I guess that makes two of us! Work has been keeping me fairly busy too..” She lied as a cover-up since she wasn’t nearly as busy as she was letting on. “Anyways, I’m glad we still have time to chat though!”

“M-me too, Mitchan-san!” He agreed as he truly meant it.

There was a pause as if Mitsuru was pondering something. “Come to think of it, it must be getting close to the end of the semester for you, is that correct?”

He looked over at his wall calendar and realized it was true. “Y-yes, you’re right. I can hardly believe it’s almost time for summer vacation..”

“That sounds nice! M-maybe we can get together again when you find the time! I’m sure you have exams coming up soon, but.. maybe when summer vacation starts, we could..” her voice trailed off shyly as if she wanted Ritsu to interject so she knew her idea wasn’t one sided. 

Ritsu felt his heart race by her suggestion, as he knew his evasiveness for physical meetings would have to be addressed eventually since he couldn’t hide from her forever.

Before he could speak, however, his attention was drawn to the sound of his door creaking open as a familiar figure suddenly appeared and observed him from his doorway curiously.

Ritsu was taken aback by this and let out a startled scream as the phone flew out of his hands. “A-AHHHH!” He quickly scrambled down to pick it back up. “U-umm! I am SO sorry, but something came up! No, no, I didn’t hurt myself I’m okay! Please don’t worry about me! I-I will call you back when I can! AAAH! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!” He hung up and in his flustered state, tossed the phone across the room already feeling like a terrible person. His eyes shifted back to the sudden visitor.

“K-Kagura-chan?! W-what are you doing here?!” 

Kagura Sohma smirked as she entered the room slyly. “Geez, it’s nice to see you too, Ri-chan! I just came over to return this kimono you let me borrow!” she said as she pulled a kimono out from behind her back and made herself comfortable as she sat on his bed and crossed her legs. “So, who was that on the phone?” she grinned playfully while twirling her hair in her finger.

Ritsu’s face heated up by her tone. “A-aahhm.. just a friend..” he twiddled with his thumbs.

“No way! You finally went and got yourself a girlfriend?!” she said clearly trying to elicit a reaction.

If Ritsu’s face wasn’t already red hot before. “G-GIRLFRIEND!? T-THERE’S NO WAY SHE WOULD EVER WANT TO BE WITH-! I-I MEAN SOMEONE LIKE ME COULD NEVER BE WORTHY OF-!” He rambled crazily while pulling on his hair.

“So I was right! This new friend of yours _is_ a girl! Ri-chan! I’m so happy for you!” Kagura interrupted him from his overreaction and smiled pulling him into a tight hug, which she often liked to do since they had no fear of transforming.

“K-Kagura-chan!! Y-you’ve got the wrong idea!!!” He insisted in a bit of a muffled tone as she got on her tiptoes and began rubbing her cheek up and down against his.

Kagura was easily the Sohma amongst all the cursed zodiac members that Ritsu considered himself to be the closest to. Ever since they were children, she looked out for him like an older sister despite being a few years younger, but she still had her rambunctious side and liked ruffling his feathers all in good fun much how a sister would.

“Okay, spill it! I want details! Who is she and how long has this been going on?”

Ritsu was not mentally prepared for this impending conversation, but he knew it had been awhile since he got to spend time with Kagura. They always liked to confide in one another and keep up to date with what was happening in each others lives, so he decided maybe it would help to open up and gain some new insight from her.

“H-her name is, Mitsuru-san.. We met at Shigure-niisan’s house over 2 weeks ago by now. She is his editor, so I happened to visit on the day she was there. At one point, we went to get takoyaki together to bring back for Shigure-niisan, and along the way we-“ He blushed as he recalled the rather deep conversation they shared and the words he had reflected back at her that he’d learned from Tohru earlier that day. “A-anyways! When we got back to the house, she said she wanted to be my friend, so I accepted. Mitchan-san and I have been keeping in regular contact ever since.”

Kagura raised a curious eyebrow noting the cute nickname. “Sounds like you skipped a few details there, Ri-chan, but it’s fine, I wont pry them out of you if you don’t feel like talkin’ about it.” She decided as even she had her limits for teasing him.

He stayed silent for a moment then finally gave in. “Kagura-chan, I’ve really done it..”

She tilted her head curiously waiting for him to elaborate. 

“The last time we spent time together in person, two monkeys appeared and jumped all over me. You should’ve seen the look on her face.. I am terrified of scaring her away if she ever finds out. What if she thinks I’m a freak and abandons me like what happened with the other’s friends who had to have their memories suppressed? I-I’ve never had any friends outside the family, so I don’t know what I’ll do if that happens.. She doesn’t deserve to have to go through that.” He admitted sadly with trembling hands, as it appeared he was on the brink of tears.

Kagura’s expression grew soft by the heaviness of this conversation, so she walked over and put a compassionate hand on top of his. “Ri-chan, don’t worry about that kind of stuff! You always worry too much about the future and what people think about you! You need to learn to just live in the moment and stop overthinking it! I’m sure she’ll accept you no matter what!”

Ritsu looked up with a tearful expression as her simple yet powerful words impacted him. He sniffled a little and placed his opposite hand overtop of hers for support. “Kagura-chan..”

Kagura smiled at this then her expression hardened. “Say, this ‘Mitchan-san’ knows you’re a guy, right?”

His face reddened again. “Y-yes..” He admitted sheepishly as he covered his face.

Kagura lifted a finger up. “Then I say you’ve got zero to worry about! I’m sure she was just freaked out by a bunch of random monkeys latching onto you! Take my word for it, when cutie Kyo-kun and I got a surprise visit from a pack of wild boars up in the mountains a few months back, he was totally startled too, but that didn’t make him love me any less! I’m sure this lady will love and accept every quirk about you if you let her, and if she doesn’t, she’ll just have to speak to ol’ Kagura-chan!” She said boldly as she was making fists and punching the air.

Ritsu stared at Kagura both concerned by her threats and amazed by her confidence and wondered where she got it from. He mentally noted her comparison was a little unfair since Kyo himself was cursed as well and thus knew exactly why she attracted a pack of wild boars. Still, he appreciated she was trying to relate with him nonetheless. He blushed a bit by her last sentence.

“I-I don’t know about _l-love_ , but, maybe you’re right.. I’ve sort of been avoiding personal contact with her for fear of a similar incident happening again, but maybe I-”

Kagura opened her mouth wide in shock as she cut him off. “What! Ri-chan, that’s totally the worst! A man has no right to avoid a lady like that!”

He began bowing manically surprised by her accusatory tone. “A-AHHH! I’M SORRY! I AM A DISGRACE TO MY GENDER! I-I HAVE NO RIGHT TO ASK FOR HER FORGIVENESS!! I WILL APOLOGIZE TO THE WORLD FOR-”

Kagura poked him in the side to get him to stop, and he collapsed onto the ground. He opened his puppy dog-like eyes up at her and gasped a bit out of a shock as she towered over him with her hands planted firmly on her hips.

“Okay, look. Even though I’m kinda just messing with you, if this girl actually cares about you enough, you really shouldn’t be avoiding her like that! It’s not fair to her! I would be devastated if cutie Kyo-kun started avoiding me and didn’t even bother telling me why!” She projected onto him not realizing her words were hitting close to home since that was pretty much her everyday life experience with him.

Ritsu’s eyes widened and the guilt began consuming him tenfold. “I-I really am the worst, aren’t I?”

Kagura extended a hand to help him up then seemed to ease up. “No, you’re not...I mean, I understand your reasoning, I really do, but you shouldn’t hold yourself back from having someone in your life who cares about you, ya know! Don’t you see how lucky you are? This is like, the first time in your life you’ve ever had someone like this and I just don’t want you to blow it just because your anxieties took over as usual. Forget about the stupid curse and just be happy for once! Don’t you realize you deserve it so much?” she pouted as she folded her arms and turned the other way as if this was very personal to her.

He stared at her completely awestruck that she was taking this so deeply to heart all for his sake. He started crying; emotional by her words as he went to embrace her again. ”K-Kagura-chan! You’re too kind to me, I- I don’t.. I don’t know what to say!”

Kagura returned the hug then pulled apart and bent over to pick up the phone he’d previously thrown and held it in his face. ”How’s about you say whatcha gotta say to your precious Mitchan-san instead of me then, hmm?” she stuck her tongue out mischievously.

“E-EHHH?!” He exclaimed as she kept playfully waving the phone closer every time he backed up.

“C’mon! You hung up so abruptly on her all cause I showed up! I need closure that things are cool with you two before I go home! C’mon, Ri-chan, pretty please?” She begged clearly just wanting to be allowed to listen in on their conversation. 

Ritsu gulped as he stared at his determined surrogate sister. He realized it was thanks to her and their talk that he felt some of his courage return, so he decided it was the least he could do to repay her for her kindness.

“O-okay… I’ll do it.” He took the phone from her hands nervously and began calling Mitsuru back while holding a hand over his racing heart.

“Put it on speaker! C’mon, please!” she silently begged as she clutched his shoulders from behind staring intently down at the phone.

“A-ah, o-okay!” he quickly did as she said now feeling even more nervous as the phone rang louder now that is was echoing for all the room to hear.

* * *

Mitsuru answered relatively quickly which didn’t give him much time to mentally prepare.

“R-Ritchan-san, are you okay? W-what happened?” Mitsuru spoke worriedly.

“I AM SO SORRY I HUNG UP ON YOU SO RUDELY LIKE THAT! I GOT A SURPRISE VISIT FROM ONE OF MY RELATIVES, SO I HAD TO SPEAK WITH HER ABOUT SOMETHING IMPORTANT! P-PLEASE FORGIVE ME!”

Mitsuru exhaled in relief at his words. “O-oh, no no, please don’t apologize then! I completely understand! I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt or something! Please do not apologize for that! I’m sorry if I called at a bad time!”

As Kagura was listening, she grew instantly amused that this woman seemed to be about as apologetic as Ritsu except maybe toned down by quite a few notches since Ritsu and his mother were on a whole different level from the rest of the human race.

“N-NOT AT ALL! PLEASE DO NOT BE SORRY! THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING!” He proclaimed fearful their conversation was about to pick up where they left it. Having Kagura breathing down his shoulder also added a bit more pressure on him.

There was a pause as Mitsuru was also a bit nervous to return to the previous conversation. “So um, a-anyways, I was going to ask you earlier if maybe you’d like to spend some time together again. I-I know you’re busy with college, and I completely understand if you can’t anytime soon, so please don’t worry if it’s an inconvenience but, I just really-“

“MITCHAN-SAN, I’VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!” He blurted out while sweating profusely as his guilt ate away at him every second he listened to her struggle to get her words out until he couldn’t keep it in anymore. He dropped the phone to slap his mouth shut with both hands while Kagura swiftly caught it before it could fall. She internally squealed by this and waited with bated breath for Mitsuru’s response.

“R-Ritchan-san, I was about to say the same thing.. “ she admitted bashfully as if his words caused her to blush.

“I am so sorry I haven’t scheduled time for a get together recently, but I hope you can forgive me..” he said in a sad tone while Kagura rubbed a hand in circular motions on his back for comfort to help him talk through this without panicking.

“N-no! Please don’t worry about it! I know the University has kept you busy!” She said blissfully unaware that that wasn’t his only reason.

Despite his inner conflict, he felt a new sense of strength thanks to his talk with Kagura, so he gulped and spoke what he’d wanted to say to her for the entirety of the week and half he’d kept his distance. “Is there any chance you are free today? I-If I’m not imposing that is!”

“Of course, Ritchan-san! I’m actually home right now, so I would love that!” Mitsuru said feeling happy to finally spend time together again.

Kagura gave Ritsu two thumbs up and grinned widely feeling deeply proud of him.

“T-thank you, Mitchan-san. I will see you soon then.” He smiled.

“I’m looking forward to it! Bye, Ritchan-san!”

_click_

“Ah! Ri-chan! I’m SO proud of you!!!!” Kagura squished Ritsu into a hug again and inadvertently was using some of her boar-like force as she tightened the hold a little too abrasively. 

“G-GAH, K-KAGURA-CHAN, T-TOO TIGHT!” He cried out painfully causing her to realize this and let go.

“O-oopsie, my bad!” She rubbed the back of her neck embarrassedly. “Anyways! She sounds like a real keeper! I like her!” She complimented with a smile.

Ritsu felt happy to have Kagura’s approval. “S-she is, I do too.” He smiled warmly as he felt relieved he had overcome his nerves this time.

Kagura stood up and began walking towards the door feeling a deep satisfaction that her work here was done.

“K-Kagura-chan?” he said causing her to look back. “Thank you for always having my best interests at heart.. I don’t know what I would have done if it weren’t for all your help today. I truly am grateful.” He bowed his head down earnestly.

Kagura looked at him sincerely then stuck her tongue out with a smile once more. “You can just owe me one next time when I need someone to vent to about cutie Kyo-kun! For now, just hurry up and go so you can have fun on your little date!”

Ritsu blushed a deep shade of crimson at her comment, which amused her.

After the door firmly closed, Ritsu took a moment to collect his thoughts then eyeballed the kimono lying on his bed that Kagura brought back. He went to pick it up, then paused for a moment as he put a thought provoking finger on his chin.

_“Confidence…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! So hopefully I wrote Kagura okay here! I’m always scared my writing is so corny or paced badly, which is partially why I don’t write very often, xD, but I felt it was necessary to have a chapter like this that’s meant to give Ritsu some development and help him gain some insight from a third party character (which again just had to be Kagura because she literally is a sister to him in my opinion from what little they got XD) I hope you enjoyed! As always, I appreciate any review/kudos :)


	6. Takoyaki Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i am proud to say I converted one of my good coworker friends, who I found out was already a fan of Fruits Basket, into loving Mitsuru x Ritsu! We were talking about it, and she was like, "Oh yeah, I really love Tohru x Kyo and Haru x Rin!" And i'm like, "Interesting.... how do you feel about Ritsu x Mitsuru? ....y-you know, Shigure's editor and the monkey?" and she looked like she had to remember who they were XD Then I spent the last hour of the shift showing her pictures of them and telling her how i'm writing this fanfic for them, and she thought they were adorable, so she was like "Ooh send it to me I want to read!" And i was like, "Ahhh, are you sure? It's already over 14k words, i don't wanna bother you with it lol." and she said "Oh, psh that's nothing i'll read it!" And ahh it was too sweet I love her. So shout out to you, Silva! (Also thank you for the kudos XD)
> 
> PS: She's also the year of the monkey what the hell i'm so jealous XD

* * *

The doorbell to Mitsuru’s apartment rung, so when she got up to open the door, Ritsu stood staring at her with deeply sorrowful eyes full of regret.

“M-Mitchan-san.. I am so sorry for my absence.. I should not have been so distant..” He apologized somberly. Before Mitsuru could respond to that, he felt a mild sense of bravery surge through him. “A-are you hungry? I-if you are, would you like to get some takoyaki together?”

Mitsuru was initially fearful to see the remorseful expression on his face, but that fear quickly changed to surprise by his sudden straightforwardness. She didn’t want to show the concerns that she was positive were present on her face, so instead of prying about his distance, she smiled quickly at his suggestion.

“Yes! That sounds really good right about now, I haven’t eaten in awhile! Give me just a moment.” She bent down to put her shoes on while Ritsu waited patiently. After she closed and locked the door to her apartment, she walked alongside him.

Ritsu stared straight ahead trying his absolute best to keep the courage he gained from Kagura as they walked down the stairs. He knew if everything went right today, it would be an important step for his confidence.

“That’s a lovely kimono you’re wearing, Ritchan-san. Is it new?” Mitsuru complimented as they began strolling through the city.

Ritsu blushed then internally felt like a failure that he didn’t have the will to put on something else back at his house in the end. “T-thank you, Mitchan-san. I let my sister borrow this awhile ago, and she brought it back for me today, so I couldn’t resist wearing it..”

Mitsuru’s head perked up as she beamed eagerly at learning this new information. “Oh, you have a sister? I had no idea!”

Ritsu rubbed the back of his neck knowing he was a bit misleading and needed to explain. “W-well, forgive me, we are not siblings by birth, but I’ve always looked up to her as a sister. Officially, we are just cousins. Her name is Kagura-chan.”

“Aw, that’s wonderful, Ritchan-san. You two must be very close!”

“Yes, we are.. She was the one who I began dressing up with as a child..” he stopped himself and blushed in shame worried to be opening up about this piece of his childhood, but he hoped it wouldn’t change Mitsuru’s opinion of him.

Mitsuru’s smile was sincere and void of any judgments as she listened intently. “Kagura-chan sounds like a very caring person! I am happy you have someone like her in your life where you can both do things you enjoy doing together.”

Ritsu was relieved to hear her kind response and felt emotional she was so accepting. “Y-yes, she is very supportive. I don’t know where I would be today if not for her encouragement..”

Mitsuru smiled warmly at this as she could tell he was feeling more comfortable opening up about himself. As she shifted her eyes off Ritsu, she stared head on and noticed they were approaching the same takoyaki stand where they initially deepened their bond that fateful day at Shigure’s house.

_‘Octopus Dude’._

Mitsuru blinked a bit as she stared up at the sign as the events of that night fondly flooded through her mind.

“Thank goodness we don’t have to bring any of this back for Shigure-sensei this time, right? Ah haha!” She joked kinda lamely to callback to that night.

Ritsu brought a hand up to his mouth as he chuckled in amusement by her comment. “Hehe, I suppose the heavens are giving you a break today, Mitchan-san. You must have done something recently to earn their condolences.” He joked back.

That got a hardy laugh out of Mitsuru as she was deeply entertained by his witty retort. 

He stared in surprise by her slaphappy reaction as he’d managed to make her laugh so hard. He blushed a bit as he couldn’t help thinking her hysterical laugh was endearing and even sort of cute.

They stepped up to the takoyaki stand and began placing their order. When they got their total, Mitsuru brought her purse up to pull out her wallet, but before she could, Ritsu covered his hand over the top of the opening to prevent her. “P-please do not worry about that. I would like to pay today, Mitchan-san.”

She stared up at him stunned by his offer as nobody ever offered to pay for her for anything aside from her parents before she moved out. She paused as she was simply lost for words.

Ritsu was worried by her silence that he had overstepped a boundary or said something wrong. “A-ah! I’m so sorry! I wasn’t trying to be rude! I-it’s just, it was my idea to get takoyaki, s-so it’s not fair for you to pay when it was..-I-Isn't this what f-friends do for each other when they-“ he fumbled over his words with pink cheeks while mindful to keep his volume down.

“N-no, Ritchan-san, what you said wasn’t rude at all! I was simply surprised by your offer! A-are you sure it’s okay for you to pay? I mean, I have mone-“

He interjected before she could finish. “O-of course it’s okay! I don’t want you to trouble yourself! Please I insist!”

The takoyaki stand man laughed at their exchange then put his elbow down and rested his head on his hand as he looked at Mitsuru. “Fuahaha! If she’s this persistent I’d say just let her pay and you can get the bill next time! How’s that sound?”

Ritsu winced at being referred to as a ‘her’ again, but didn’t vocalize it as he hurried to grab some money from his wallet before Mitsuru would oppose again. He put down the yen and grabbed the takoyaki bag before walking away in a quickened pace. “K-keep the change.”

Mitsuru stood in place for a moment watching this feeling sorry for Ritsu as the takoyaki man thanked them unaware of what he’d inadvertently done. She snapped out of it and hurried to catch up with him.

“R-Ritchan-san, w-wait!..you-” she started then gulped as she changed what she was going to say at the last second. “T-thank you.. that was very generous of-..”

“You must be so humiliated to be seen in public with me…” he uttered woefully as he stopped in his tracks ahead of her.

Mitsuru’s expression softened as it genuinely saddened her to hear such words come out of someone so dear to her. She walked closer and put a hand on his arm which made him turn to look as she spoke. “Ritchan-san, that couldn’t be further from the truth. It does not matter to me one iota what strangers assume when they see you. I accept how you are, and that should be all that matters when we are together. You don’t have anything to be humiliated of, and neither do I.”

He stared at her once again and felt tears well up. “Mitchan-san.. I am sorry for doubting myself… thank you for your kind words..” he wiped his tears and collected himself.

Mitsuru felt like she could tell he was already handling stress better than he previously was whenever things like this would happen. She was proud he was finding his inner strength step by step.

She gave him a look of reassurance, which managed to get a soft smile from him as they began heading for a nearby park with the takoyaki in hand.

* * *

As they arrived at their destination, they made their way over to a park table and sat on opposite sides as they ate the takoyaki. Mitsuru initially pointed out a bench, but Ritsu worried if they got too close, he would accidentally transform since it was kind of small, so he apologized profusely as he insisted on the table. She happily obliged oblivious to his reasoning.

“Thank you again for treating, Ritchan-san.” She returned to that conversation since she truly was appreciative.

“It really is my pleasure, Mitchan-san, in fact, it’s the least I could do. I am still learning about what it’s like to have a friend outside of the family, so I want to be the best I can be at being as good to you as you’ve been to me..” He blushed a bit as he hoped his explanation didn't sound strange.

Mitsuru blushed in return by this, and then realized this was the perfect opportunity to ask something while they were on this topic. “May I ask you something if you’re comfortable answering? You say you’ve only been friends with people in your family. What about your college?”

Ritsu swallowed a bite of takoyaki and widened his eyes as it truly was a loaded question despite seeming harmless. He paused while he tried to think of the best way to answer without raising suspicion. “U-um.. Well, I attend a private college.. so, I get a one on one experience with a special teacher, so I don’t exactly know any of my peers.. As for why I am only friends with my family members- well…“ he stopped as he didn’t really have an answer that didn’t revolve around discussing the curse. He picked at his food anxiously as he tried to come up with an answer.

Mitsuru could tell he was struggling, and she knew the topic might be sensitive, so she let her curiosity dwindle. “I-it’s okay, Ritchan-san, you don’t have to say anymore, I was just curious is all! I know your mother is very protective of you. I can't blame her, I’m sure if I ever have a child someday, I might be a little overprotective too!” She laughed.

Ritsu about choked on his food by this, but he tried to collect himself as he spoke with a beet red face. “A-a-ahh, y-yes!! S-she is protective of me, but for good reasons!!..” he fumbled with his kimono collar skittishly. 

Mitsuru seemed oblivious as to whatever flustered him, but she continued. “Speaking of which, I remember back at the house the day I met her, she said she wanted you to carry on the family business and take over the hot spring resort. How do you feel about that? Is that what you want?”

Ritsu much preferred the direction of this new question since it was a lot easier to answer. “Y-yes, I have accepted that decision. I owe my parents so much, so it is the least i can do to try to atone. It is an honor to carry on the family business.”

Mitsuru tilted her head sort of taken aback by this. “Really? If that's truly how you feel, then i am glad for you! It's just, well, I remember you seemed a little troubled when that topic was brought up back then, so I was worried maybe you were holding yourself back from your true passions.”

Ritsu tried to recount the events of that day to try to understand what Mitsuru was talking about. When he remembered, he understood how she could have interpreted it that way. "O-oh no, i'm sorry Mitchan-san, but that isn't the case! If I seemed uncertain, it is likely because the day before at Shigure-niisan's house, Yuki-san and the others were asking me if I would still wear women's clothing when I enter the work force.." he hung his head low as it seemed to still be a heavy weight on his mind.

"O-oh, I understand now. I'm sorry Ritchan-san, I didn't mean to bring up something that is a rather sensitive subject.." Mitsuru said feeling guilty once she realized the truth.

"Please don't apologize, Mitchan-san. I think talking about this actually helped me in a way, so thank you for caring." Ritsu bowed his head and smiled with earnest eyes.

Mitsuru was surprised that he didn't shout or apologize hysterically as he usually did; especially whenever she apologized first. She could tell he was feeling more comfortable which made her happy.

"How did you decide you wanted to become an editor, Mitchan-san?" Ritsu inquired politely since they were on the topic of careers. 

Mitsuru's eyes glimmered by his question. They'd touched on it a little before, but she never got to go in full detail, so she was happy to explain. "Oh, I've always loved stories and fairytales ever since I was a little girl! I excelled far more in my writing classes than I did in other classes when I was in school, so my parents often persuaded me that it was my passion in life. I considered being a writer at first, but then I decided I much preferred to read than to write, so that's why I chose to become an editor!" She appeared to realize she was getting a bit too excited, and scratched her lip in her embarrassment worried she was being annoying. "S-sorry! I guess I got a bit carried away there, ah haha!" 

Ritsu smiled attentively as he listened with his chin resting on his palm. "Not at all, Mitchan-san. I enjoy seeing you light up so vibrantly when you talk about the things you're so passionate about. I am so happy you found a profession you're so skilled at and love doing. Although I am quite certain if you ever did decide to write, your stories would be excellent too. I would read them. " he complimented sincerely.

Mitsuru blushed by his comment as she was genuinely not used to people taking such a vested interest in her personal hobbies and encouraging her like this, so she sunk a little in her seat in her flustered state and began fumbling with her purse straps. "Y-you're too sweet, Ritchan-san.. t-thank you.."

He giggled at her cute reaction as he really liked seeing this side of Mitsuru. He took a moment to think that she really needed someone in her life to help bring this carefree and fun loving side out of her more often since her life usually consisted of overworking herself to the point of exhaustion or spending far too much time stressing and threatening to commit suicide over Shigure. She needed someone in her life who could show her just how worth it she really is. Someone like-

"...um..Ritchan-san?" 

Ritsu was awakened from his thoughts as he didn't realize he was spacing out a little too long as he was thinking about that and blushed at where his mind was heading before she snapped him back to his senses. "Y-yes, Mitchan-san?" 

Mitsuru lowered her head to look down at the table as it appeared she was growing emotional by whatever she was struggling to speak about. "..You know.. I didn't realize it until recently, but when I spend time with you, I don't feel so lonely anymore.. To tell the truth, I've been so focused on my work over the past few years that I haven't enjoyed myself like this in a long time.. Most of my friends from school have moved on with their lives too, so I haven't had anyone who takes the time to talk with me on the phone, or go on outings, or just generally takes any interest in my life whatsoever.."

Ritsu stared intently at Mitsuru and hung onto her every word as she suddenly was getting so deep and personal. 

"I suppose what I'm trying to say is..I am so lucky to have met you, Ritchan-san.. You are really starting to mean a lot to me.." She blushed then shifted her gaze off the table and looked up at Ritsu who sat with an unreadable expression, so she continued speaking to lessen the impact of her words in a now flustered state. "A-AH! I mean- I-I'm not trying to pity myself or force you to continue spending time with me or anything! It's just-! Y-you-!"

"M-MITCHAN-SAN, YOU MEAN SO MUCH TO ME TOO!!" He exclaimed as he pulled a handkerchief out of his kimono and blew his nose as he was now sobbing. "I- I love spending time with you, you are so wonderful, and you make me feel-s-so happy!, so please, d-don't be ridiculous, I-I am so honored to have met you, too!!" He choked out his words through a sniffly crying voice. 

Mitsuru looked at Ritsu with sorrowful eyes at the thought that she'd made him cry when that obviously wasn't her intention, but she knew deep down his tears were those of joy and not sadness since they were deepening their bond and growing closer. His sweet words truly touched her and made her feel her own self worth go up knowing he was just as happy spending time with her as she was with him.

She smiled emotionally and decided to get up from her seat to walk over and put a comforting hand on Ritsu's shoulder. He looked up at her still with tears in his eyes, and hesitated for a moment before he slowly leaned his head over to rest on top of her hand affectionately.

Mitsuru blushed immensely with wide eyes by his sudden action since she wasn't expecting it, but she was more than willing to do anything she could to help him, so she let him stay this way for as long as he needed until he felt calmer. She decided to return the gesture by using her free hand to rub his opposite shoulder to soothe him. 

Ritsu enjoyed the feeling and closed his eyes as he felt so at peace like this. He truly wanted nothing more than to get up and hug her in this moment, but he knew that just wasn't a possibility, so this was the only physical way he knew of showing his appreciation for the woman who was starting to mean such a great deal to him.

After a while, he removed his head from her hand and wiped his last tear away. "Mitchan-san, thank you." He whispered in a soft breath and looked up into her eyes deeply.

Mitsuru felt her heart rate speed up a little by that rather intimate moment they'd shared, but tried not to let it show. "O-of course!" She blurted as she tried to fight the blush she knew was consuming her face as she averted her eye contact. She quickly scrambled to clean up their trash from the park table in an attempt to distract her racing mind now that they'd finished eating the takoyaki. She gathered it all in the bag and walked it over to the nearby trashcan before walking back over to Ritsu.

He smiled and stood up as they began leaving the park.

* * *

As they left the park and were now strolling through the city once more, mostly in comfortable silence since they both seemed to have a lot on their mind after their previous moment, Ritsu finally spoke.

"..You know, I didn't even realize it before, but I think i've always been pretty lonely too, Mitchan-san." 

Mitsuru looked at Ritsu curiously by his words knowing things were likely to get emotional again. "You are?" she said in a sad tone at hearing this.

"W-well not anymore!! I- I'm sorry, I should have been more clear!!" He exclaimed frantically before catching himself. "I-I mean, I never let myself feel sorry for myself or admit that I was lonely since I always believed I was one of the few lucky ones in the family who was fortunate enough to have loving parents, and of course I had Kagura-chan and the others, but I think it's okay to admit that you want to surround yourself with people who care for you.. I didn't realize how nice that feeling is until.." He stopped himself as he noticed Mitsuru's expression begin to show concern.

"Ah,-I- did-did I say something wrong?" Ritsu began to panic a little not yet realizing he'd slipped up and revealed too much.

"Ritchan-san, what do you mean, 'you were one of the few lucky ones fortunate enough to have loving parents'..? What.. what have you and your family been through..?" She said with genuine worry as she stepped a bit closer and her expression hardened like she was taking this very seriously. 

His eyes widened as he took a nervous step back and raised his hands up defensively the closer she got before the realization fully hit. "AH!! I- NO, NO, PLEASE IT'S NOT LIKE THAT! I- IT'S NOT SOMETHING I CAN- I MEAN IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE TO JUST- AHHH, I APOLOGIZE TO THE WORLD AND THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY FOR MY INCOMPETENCE AT KEEPING MY BIG MOUTH SHUT! I AM SO SORRY THAT I AM SUCH A FAILURE-!" 

Mitsuru looked around and saw all the looks they were getting from people by his yelling, so she quickly got closer and motioned for him to shush and bring his volume down. "Ritchan-san, it's okay! it's okay, breathe! Please trust me, I am not asking these questions to hurt you, I just want to understand.. I don't want you to be living in a bad environment is all.." 

Ritsu's erratic behavior calmed a little as he looked at Mitsuru and saw just how much she truly cared for him and his well being on this topic, so he inhaled and exhaled to get it all out despite still knowing this was a topic he could not even remotely discuss with her or anyone outside the family for that matter. "Mitchan-san, I am so sorry to have worried you about this.. I.. It's not that I don't trust you..but I accidentally said more than I should've since we've been getting quite emotional today.. m-maybe someday I can tell you... but I.. I can't right now.." He lowered his head causing his bangs to obscure his eyes, so she couldn't quite tell if he was about to cry or just trying to hide his emotions.

Mitsuru stood for a moment deciding whether or not she would continue to pry for the sake of her own genuine concern for her dear friend, or respect his decision to not talk about something that, quite frankly, sounded like it might be a traumatic part of his life that she just wasn't close enough to expect him to talk about it with her yet. She decided on the latter.

"Okay, Ritchan-san.. I will respect your feelings, we don't have to talk about it anymore." She forced a smile for his sake since she was still deeply concerned as they kept walking. She tried to look on the bright side of things to return the mood to a more positive atmosphere. "I guess all that matters is you don't have to be as lonely as you were!"

Ritsu was relieved she was willing to drop it and made a mental note to be more careful when talking about personal matters with her. The last thing he wanted to do was worry her. "Yes.. I owe you so much for that. I..." He blushed a little but continued as he once more tried to let the confidence flow through him. "I can't wait for my summer vacation to begin so I can spend more time with you, Mitchan-san. I am sure we will make many wonderful memories."

Mitsuru felt her cheeks redden by his cute wording and optimistic view towards the future. She looked at him and smiled happily as the thoughts of a fun summer flowed through her mind.

"I would love nothing more." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took me longer to post! I actually was planning on uploading it a week ago, but my Word document corrupted it and every letter turned into an asterisk and i couldn't fix it X_X I was so devastated.. Only a little over half my progress was saved. Now i'm gonna use Google Docs from now on, so hopefully I won't have problems anymore ^_^; I'll definitely have the next chapter posted a lot sooner, so sorry about that! 
> 
> Also, I hope i'm still writing the growing romance between Mitsuru and Ritsu alright and it doesn't feel rushed or forced! I'm probably always going to worry about this lol. I know the whole, "You're starting to mean a lot to me" probably sounds like a confession, but we're not quite there yet XD Either way I hope you enjoy :D


	7. The Manuscript Dilemma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was joking with my sister about how I believe Mitsuru x Ritsu is arguably one of the most underrated ships in Fruits Basket, and I was like, "Dude, Mitsuru and Ritsu didn't even make it into the top THIRTY in the fan book poll for pairings!" And she's a huge Tohru x Yuki shipper and she was like, "Well at least your ship is canon.." and i was like ".....touché." XD

* * *

It was now the first week of summer, which for Ritsu meant college was finished for the semester, and he could have the next 2 ½ months off to relax and put his studies on hold for a bit, but for Mitsuru, it meant it was time to pick up the next manuscript from Shigure.

She dreaded the thought as soon as she woke up and saw the note she wrote on her calendar reminding her today was the day. She groaned loudly as she was already mentally preparing herself for the worst, but she tried her best to be a bit optimistic. After all, the last time she had the misfortune of seeing Shigure was last month when he actually cut her a break and gave her the manuscript despite the setback. Also, it was thanks to him, as much as she hated to admit it, that she met Ritsu and was able to contact him so their friendship could begin.

She tightened her lips and scoffed stubbornly as she hated having to remind herself that it was thanks to Shigure for helping her meet someone who she now cherished so much, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling he had sinister intentions since he was still, ‘Shigure The Evil One’, as she dubbed him, in her eyes. 

Regardless, Mitsuru decided she wasn’t going to force herself to think about him anymore than she had to, so she pulled her cellphone out to call him to make absolutely certain he was home first before she wasted her time chasing him down so she could just collect what she needed and be done with it.

The phone rang for three dials before he picked up.

“Hello, Mitchan!” Shigure said in a cheery voice that made her cringe since he always pretended to be so nice on the phone you almost wouldn’t guess he was a complete nightmare in person.

“S-Sensei?! You know what day it is, correct?” She demanded to test him.

“Hmmm? Well I know it’s not Tuesday.. Oh! I got it, is today the day you’re going to profess your undying love for me, Mitchan?” 

She threw up a little in her mouth as his words made her want to throw herself off a bridge and go join the great beyond. “Not on your life!! The manuscript! Please tell me you have it!” She cut to the chase not wanting to play games anymore. 

“Oh, that! Well why didn’t you say so. Of course I have it, what do you take me for, an irresponsible adult?” She could swear she heard a giggle come from him that made her wish she could reach into the phone and shake him silly until she could wipe the stupid grin off his face.

Nonetheless, she breathed to calm herself, relieved he actually had it and didn’t want to answer his question honestly since it might make him withhold the manuscript from her. 

“Okay! I’m on my way to get it now! Please do not tease me, Sensei!!” She hung up before he could answer and rushed to get dressed into her work clothes then ran out the door.

* * *

  
  


When Mitsuru finally made it to Shigure’s home, there was a note taped to the sliding door that read, _‘You hung up before I could finish, but I haven’t been home all day. I decided to take a nice relaxing dip in the hot springs. Please do not try to find me.’_

Mitsuru stared at this note in disbelief and ripped it off the door and held it right in front of her face to analyze it to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. After several times reading and processing it, she clenched her teeth in her frustration then began ripping it to shreds. 

“W-WAIT A MINUTE!!! HOW WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PUT THIS ON YOUR DOOR IF YOU WEREN’T HOME AFTER OUR CALL!!! SENSEI, YOU LIAR!!!! PLEASE OPEN UP!!!! I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE!!!!!” She began pounding on the door and ringing the doorbell hysterically while screaming desperately. 

After a few minutes and to no avail, Mitsuru sank to the ground and decided since she couldn’t just break into his home, she was going to have to go on another wild goose chase yet again. He said he was at the hot spring, and as much as she knew he was lying to her and was probably holed up inside at this very moment laughing at her wasted efforts this whole time, she decided it was her only option for now.

“W-wait… hot spring?!” she exclaimed to herself as she wondered if it was Okami Sohma’s hot spring. She wasn’t sure where it was located, so there was only one way to find out.

She pulled her cellphone out of her purse haphazardly and began calling Ritsu hoping he would answer quickly. Luckily for her, he did.

“Mitchan-san!” He said in his usual sweet voice before she cut him off in her manic unfiltered state.

“RITCHAN-SAN, WHERE IS THE HOT SPRING??” 

Ritsu was startled by her snappy tone of voice and could instantly tell something was off with her. “A-ahm, m-my parents' hot spring? I..I can take you there if you want, w-wait, you don’t sound like yourself, Mitchan-san. What’s going on, please tell me are you alright?” 

“SHIGURE-SENSEI KNOWS I NEED TO COLLECT THE MANUSCRIPT TODAY, AND HE LEFT ME A NOTE SAYING HE’S AT THE HOT SPRING! I NEED IT RIGHT NOW! IF HE DOESN’T GIVE IT TO ME; THEN TODAY’S THE DAY I’LL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO-”

Ritsu cut her off before he could let her finish as he already sadly knew what she was going to say if she continued. “Mitchan-san! P-please i’m begging you, don’t do anything drastic! I’m on my way right now, so please please stay there!” he pleaded as he began to hurry over.

Mitsuru was pacing anxiously with her hands on her head as she waited while still attempting to pound on the door to Shigure’s house every now and then since she still had a feeling he was home all along and just trolling her. 

Ritsu made it over after only a few minutes and immediately ran over to Mitsuru and tried to help her calm down. This wasn’t exactly how he pictured his summer vacation starting off, especially after their rather emotional conversation last time they saw each other in person, but he knew he had to do all he could to help her now. 

“M-Mitchan-san?!” he averted his gaze down and widened his eyes with concern as he noticed what she was holding in her hands.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes as she was clutching a box cutter with shaky hands.

“G-give me that, right now!” He said in a surprisingly authoritative tone as he held his hand out waiting for her to give it to him. 

“N-no!! I- I need the manuscript!!! This is the only way!!!” She pleaded as she gripped it tighter against her chest.

Ritsu was so confused by her logic, but he continued to insist for fear of her safety. “No it is not! Mitchan-san, you’re scaring me..” He admitted worriedly, still holding his hand out. 

Tears were now streaming down her face as she saw the fear in Ritsu’s eyes. She reluctantly handed him the box cutter and gave up. She began crying a bit like a baby as she buried her face in her hands in her despair. “Why is Shigure-sensei so mean to me??!!! He knew the deadline was today, and on the phone he said he had it!!! Why does he hate me so much??!!! I’m just trying to do my job!! D-doesn’t he care about his own job?!!? Ahhhhhh!!!!”

Ritsu was pained to see her this way, and he knew he had to be the voice of reason to help her since she wasn’t in the right state of mind. He decided to use her previous words she usually said to him whenever he would go into hysterical fits himself. “Mitchan-san, it’s okay, it’s okay! Breathe! Here, please use this!” he offered her a handkerchief he pulled out of his kimono. 

Mitsuru peeked an eye out from behind her hands to observe what he was offering. She sniffled as she removed her hands from her eyes to take hold of it. She wiped her tears and blew her nose with the handkerchief before realizing she couldn’t very well give it back to Ritsu. 

“.....I-i’m sorry..” she said embarrassedly as she tried her best to compose herself.

“Mitchan-san, do not be sorry. I.. I just don’t want to see you this way.. It.. It hurts to watch..” he said sadly as he took the handkerchief not even bothered by its used state and walked it over to the outside trash can while Mitsuru stood feeling guilty at the knowledge she’d shown this ugly side of herself again to Ritsu.

“Let’s go to the hot spring, I’m sure Shigure-niisan will be there like he said he was.” He said as he smiled in an attempt to give her a sense of hope that maybe this really was all just a misunderstanding.

Mitsuru sniffled again and just couldn’t bring herself to continue this behavior after seeing how sweet Ritsu was being to her despite it all. She tried for his sake to not act like she was on the brink of ending it all. 

“O-okay..” 

* * *

As they arrived, Mitsuru’s mind was still hyper fixated on one thing and one thing only; which was the manuscript of course, but she couldn’t help but let her mind occupy one other thought, which was the fact that the hot spring resort was truly a magnificent sight to behold. 

“T-this is it?” She said in a soft voice filled with wonder as she stared at it taking it all in.

“Yes, it is. What do you think of it, Mitchan-san?” He said in a polite tone as he had been doing his best at comforting her throughout the entire walk here. 

“It’s so beautiful..” She said genuinely meaning it as she managed a smile. 

Ritsu smiled at the nice compliment and felt a sense of satisfaction that she held it in such high regard. “I-I’m so glad you think so.”

Suddenly, a woman appeared before them without them even realizing she was there and took their attention off each other as she began wailing crazily as a dark aura surrounded her. 

“RITSU, MY ONE AND ONLY SON! PLEASE DO NOT BREAK YOUR POOR OLD MOTHERS HEART AND TELL ME YOU ARE SO INDECENT THAT YOU WOULD BRING YOUR LADY FRIEND HERE IN THE HOPES OF BATHING IN THE HOT SPRINGS TOGETHER?! HAVEN’T I TAUGHT YOU BETTER MORALS THAN THIS?! I AM SO SORRY FOR FAILING YOU MY CHILD! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!” 

Ritsu’s face went red hot, as did Mitsuru’s by Okami’s insane, albeit somewhat justified, assumption based on how it likely appeared.

“M-MOTHER, IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!!!!! I WOULD NEVER DARE TO DO SUCH A SHAMEFUL THING!!!! I-I BROUGHT MITCHAN-SAN HERE TO LEAD HER TO SHIGURE-NIISAN!!!” He bowed several times extremely flustered.

Okami raised an eyebrow in confusion and folded her arms. “Hm, Shigure-san? I haven’t seen him in weeks if not months.”

……….

“SENSEI, YOU JERK!!!!!!” Mitsuru screamed as she turned and began trying to run away, but Ritsu quickly caught up in front of her in sort of a risky move and placed both his hands firmly on her shoulders while mindful to not get too close. He positioned himself sort of awkwardly to gap their distance as he took a few steps back and extended his arms out as far as they could go. 

“Mitchan-san, please get a hold of yourself!” 

“NO! I CAN’T TAKE HIS LYING ANYMORE! I WILL CHASE HIM TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH IF IT MEANS I CAN GET THAT MANUSCRIPT! LET GO OF ME, RITCHAN-SAN! I’M GOING BACK TO HIS HOUSE! I KNOW HE’S BEEN THERE ALL ALONG!” She said clearly letting the adrenaline overpower her normal emotions since she would never normally speak to him like this.

Ritsu panicked as she was beginning to struggle and try pushing into him, and if she did that, they would surely hug, so he tried to tighten his hold to prevent her. He noted that her whole body appeared to be shaking as if she was really exerting herself, which worried him.

“P-please, stop! Y-you’re not thinking rationally, Mitchan-san! J-just let me go get it for you!!” 

Mitsuru seemed to calm a little by his offer as she stopped pushing to try to get past him. “D-do you think he’d open the door for you instead..?” she uttered as if asking this question out loud to herself. 

Ritsu was relieved that he managed to talk her down, as he was now able to release his hold as she stood staring at him still with wide eyes.

“Yes! Mitchan-san, please why don’t you stay here and relax in the hot springs! You will be surprised by the wonders it’ll do for your state of mind! I promise you with every fiber of my being, I will find Shigure-niisan for you and get that manuscript if it’s the last thing I do. You do not deserve to trouble yourself with this. Please enjoy yourself and let me find him!”

Mitsuru blinked as she didn’t exactly expect to go in the hot springs, especially since she really couldn’t imagine being able to actually enjoy herself as she’d likely be paranoid thinking about that god forsaken manuscript the whole time, but something about Ritsu’s words and determination to do this for her snapped her back to her normal senses for a moment.

“R-Ritchan-san...oh my gosh… I am so sorry for acting like a lunatic.. I.. I really went off the rails..” She looked deeply apologetic as she looked up at him. “B-but, are you.. Are you sure?”

He blushed a little as he was happy to see her like this again. “Of course i’m sure! Please, I insist!”

All throughout this, Okami watched very confused by what was going on since she had no context, but she could tell how much Ritsu was trying for her, so she smiled and decided to allow Mitsuru to enter. 

“Yes, please Mitsuru-san, why don’t you come in?” She motioned towards the door.

“A-ah, um..” She looked back over at Ritsu who gave her a reassuring smile and nodded, so she decided if for no other reason than to make him happy she would do this. “O-okay..”

“I will hurry for you, Mitchan-san! See you later!” He said as he began running back towards Shigure’s. 

Mitsuru still felt her heart beating by her anxiety towards not having her work done, but now Okami was leading her inside to the hot springs, so she decided to give up for now and just pray that Ritsu would have better luck than she did.

_“Ritchan-san…why are you so wonderful to me..?”_ She thought as she was now feeling immensely bad for how she’d acted.

  
  


* * *

Ritsu raced back to Shigure’s house while internally still worrying so much about Mitsuru, but he knew the hot spring was just the ticket towards relaxing her, so in that respect, he sort of wanted to take his time just so she could enjoy herself longer, but he knew he still needed to be quick.

He approached the door and caught his breath, but just as he lifted a hand up to knock, Shigure opened the door widely and extended both his arms out welcomingly.

“If it isn’t, Ritchan! What brings you here?” He said happily with a subliminally mischievous grin.

“S-Shigure-niisan??! Y-you’re here??” He exclaimed in disbelief with his mouth agape in shock. 

“Hm? Well, of course i’m here, I live here after all!” He said a bit smugly, still grinning as if nothing had happened. 

Ritsu stared, still confused, then shook his head and decided to do what he came here to do. “Mitchan-san needs the manuscript, Shigure-niisan! Please can you give it to me, so I can-”

“What’s this? Why would you do that? Don’t tell me she sent you here to be her messenger boy. Silly Mitchan, why didn’t she just come here herself?” He laughed.

Ritsu felt even more perplexed by his nonchalance. “S-she did come here…. I was here too.. You weren’t opening the door despite her best efforts.. W-wait, were you here this whole entire time?!” He exclaimed in a loud voice now not understanding why Shigure would do such a thing. 

Shigure evaded the question and continued to keep up his act now in an attempt to try provoking Ritsu. “Oo~ooh, I’m getting chills! Are you going to let me have it, Ritchan?” 

“H-huh?! ‘Let you have it’..?” He repeated not understanding what he meant.

“Yep! How does it make you feel to know I was here this whole time? Are you going to hit me?” He pointed at his cheek as if wanting Ritsu to deck him good.

Ritsu looked extremely disappointed by this revelation, but fortunately for Shigure, Ritsu didn’t have a single mean bone in his body, so instead he opted to let his feelings do the talking rather than his fists. “I.. I’m upset, niisan! Y-You drove Mitchan-san to a very low point! She was threatening to end her life! W-why would you lie and say you were at my parents’ hot spring??” 

Shigure giggled behind his fan and smirked devilishly. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe as another challenge for you, perhaps?” 

Ritsu took a step back and stared dumbfounded and still with immense anguish at Shigure. 

“...‘A-another challenge’…? Shigure-niisan, I-I truly appreciate the efforts you and the others went for me that day, but.. why do you have to involve Mitchan-san in my challenge? W-why do you take such pleasure by treating her so horribly..? I-if you want to be mean to someone, please take it out on me instead! Mitchan-san loves her job so much! You should see her light up when she talks about it! Why do you make her life so miserable? She hasn’t done anything to deserve this! Please, just tell me why!” 

Shigure looked at Ritsu with amusement as if he was getting the exact reaction he was hoping for. “My oh my, Ritchan, the way you defend her.. If I didn’t know any better, i’d say you were falling in love with my editor.”

Ritsu’s entire face flushed by this accusation and he scrambled to explain. “A-AH, ‘FALLING IN LOVE’??? I-I I MEAN, SHE IS SPECIAL TO ME, BUT I- THERE’S NO WAY I COULD- I-I MEAN SOMEONE LIKE ME DOESN’T- SHE DOESN’T NEED-”

“Okay, okay, you needn’t fluster yourself further, I was kidding, Ritchan. It’s nice to see you grow a bit of a backbone at least, so i’ll consider your challenge a success for today. One moment, let me go get it.” He stepped into the house to retrieve the manuscript leaving Ritsu to sort out his emotions as he fumbled with his kimono sleeves frantically.

“Here.” He handed the manuscript to Ritsu.

Ritsu looked at it wondering if this was a trap, but it appeared normal as he skimmed through some of the pages to double check, so he held it very carefully in both hands to ensure he wouldn’t mess it up like the last time.

“S-Shigure-niisan… you.. you care about Mitchan-san deep down, d-don’t you..?” He looked at Shigure with sad eyes as if this question really meant a lot to him.

“Hmm..” He tapped on his chin as if genuinely considering his answer. “Maybe not nearly as much as you, but then again, i’m not the one who’s falling in love with her.” 

Ritsu’s face was as red as a tomato as he once again appeared to be on the brink of going on another wild tangent to explain himself, but Shigure interjected before he could.

“Say hello to her for me, won’t you? The door is always open for her!” He smiled that sinister smile before he closed the door.

Ritsu just stood in place with his jaw dropped and face flushed by that whole confrontation. Was Shigure always like this and he was too naive to ever notice? Not that it mattered anymore, he needed to hurry and get this manuscript to Mitsuru at any cost.

* * *

  
  


MItsuru was almost completely submerged in the hot spring; only leaving her nose above the water so she could breathe. She felt so restless, but Ritsu really wasn’t kidding when he said the hot spring would help her state of mind. She almost felt like she could stay like this forever if she didn’t have to worry about her career being put on the line once again.

Okami had led her to this private section so she could be alone, and being here really helped her reflect on her poor behavior; especially towards Ritsu. He didn’t deserve to feel responsible for any of this, yet he took it on as a personal mission for her without hesitation. 

She blushed a little as she recalled his unwavering care and compassion for her, which made her wince in pain by what she put him through. She knew she owed him the biggest apology when she saw him next. 

After a while, Okami entered the room and looked at Mitsuru with a smile and bowed. “Mitsuru-san, Ritsu has returned. He is in the lobby with that document you needed.” 

Mitsuru practically bolted out of the hot spring at hearing this news, and luckily had her towel still on intact as she ran past Okami. “T-THANK YOU SO MUCH!” She yelled to her before racing to put her clothes back on, not even caring they were getting wet, and made her way out to the lobby with quickened steps.

“RITCHAN-SAN, YOU ANGEL!!!” 

Ritsu stood with a proud smile as Mitsuru was running towards him, but then his eyes widened in horror as he noticed that she had her arms extended out as if she was about to embrace him tightly. He acted fast by setting the manuscript on the nearby table and grabbed her by her wrists as she finally got close enough so he could restrain her from doing so. 

Mitsuru looked into his eyes as if she was confused by his preventative action and shifted her gaze down to stare at the hold he now had on her, but she looked at him, still letting her appreciation show regardless of having her hug rebuffed. “T-thank you so much, Ritchan-san! I.. I’m so sorry that I acted the way I did, but I-” She stopped as she noticed he lowered his hands from her wrists and started holding her hands instead and smiled softly.

“Don’t thank me, Mitchan-san.. I am just thankful you got what you needed..” He tried to play it cool so she wouldn’t feel rejected since he, of course, wanted to return the hug if he could. 

She blushed and looked at the sincerity in his eyes as she knew he was really coming a long way with his confidence. She still felt she needed to apologize anyways. 

“No, Ritchan-san, I am so horrified by the way I spoke to you today.. I let my emotions get way out of hand, and I deeply apologize for that..”

Ritsu looked at her knowing this was something weighing heavy on her, so he allowed her to get it all out for the sake of her feeling better. 

“Mitchan-san, the only thing I want you to do is never threaten to end your life ever again..” He looked at her seriously as she now looked at him with sad guilty eyes as they still held hands. “Your life is so precious and.. I.. I don’t ever want to worry about you ...doing something so extreme..” he managed to say obviously not wanting to word it in a more graphic way. “I don’t want to imagine a world without you in it, Mitchan-san..” he blushed a little by his words while simultaneously feeling so sad about this topic due to what he’d witnessed from her earlier.

Mitsuru stared at him, completely absorbing his words and taking them seriously to heart. She remembered the words he’d also expressed to her the night they met when he uplifted her as well, which made her feel even worse that she was reverting back to her old ways as if she’d learned nothing. She felt tears well up in her eyes, so she removed her hands from his to wipe them away and decided to make a solemn vow. 

“R-Ritchan-san, I’m so sorry to worry you like this…You are too wonderful.. I promise.. I will never leave you..” She blushed as she realized that came out wrong, so she continued. “I-I mean, I will never leave this world by my own hand! I still have a lot to accomplish, s-so thank you for helping me remember that..” 

Ritsu let out a sigh of immense relief and smiled by her reassurance as he grabbed the manuscript from the table and held it out. 

“This manuscript may be important, but please don’t ever lose sight of what’s most important, Mitchan-san.” He said sweetly as he waited for her to take it.

Mitsuru smiled; still overcome with emotions, before accepting it in both hands while admiring Ritsu’s kind gentle expression.

_“I think I already have my reason to keep living..”_

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I was a little worried about writing about Mitsuru's suicidal tendencies since I wanted to handle it delicately, but i thought it would be nice to just have this one chapter where Ritsu again reminds her that her life is precious and help her to 100% stop, so i think this is the only chapter where i'll do this. I wanted to involve Okami more in this chapter, but i didn't want it to get too long, so maybe i'll save her again for a future chapter possibly. Also I am so excited for the future of Shigure's master plan lol. Hope you liked it!


	8. The Picture Frame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I kinda hit a bit of a writers block for this chapter which is why it took me longer to post. I have three separate drafts of different versions i had for it, (one of which was 4 pages long, so i’ll explain what that one was about in the authors note at the end XD) but ultimately this was what I decided on, so if certain parts feel a bit choppy or not expanded on as much as i could’ve, i’m sorry for that X_X I’m hoping future chapters wont give me as hard of a time as this one gave me, lol, but I hope it’s still decent! 
> 
> Also I'd like to say I completely suck at chapter titles, so sorry for my unoriginality X_X

* * *

After Ritsu’s words of encouragement sunk into Mitsuru and she assured him she would continue to live, they smiled warmly at each other before beginning to take their leave from the hot spring. Before they could, however, Okami lightly tugged on Ritsu’s kimono sleeve to get his attention.

“If you don’t mind, Mitsuru-san, I would like to have a word with Ritsu before you two leave.”

Ritsu and Mitsuru both looked at eachother quizzically before Ritsu nodded and followed his mother a bit hesitantly not sure what he was in for this time. “O-okay.” 

Mitsuru stood patiently outside the resort as Okami led Ritsu back into the lobby so they could speak in private.

He felt nervous by whatever his mother wanted to speak about since usually she was very cautious and always thought of the worst case scenarios, but her face seemed anything but intimidating this time as she beamed enthusiastically.

“Mitsuru-san told me the gist of what was going on, and well.. I heard everything back there just now. Ritsu..I am so proud to see you grow so bold and capable! You’ve changed so much ever since this woman entered your life, haven’t you?” She said with emotional tears and a smile.

Ritsu blushed embarrassedly by his mother’s words, yet that feeling was greatly outweighed by the immense internal gratification at being praised by the one person who he’d always wanted to hear those words from.

“Y-you’re proud of me, mother?” He said with wide eyes filled with adoration as he repeated her words to see if he’d heard right.

“Of course.” She put both her hands over her heart. “You never had an easy life, so despite the fact you grew up with the circumstances you did, I always hoped the day would come when you would find the strength to realize your own self worth and purpose, and look at you now. You’re finding it and using it to uplift someone you care for.” She continued to look at him deeply with tears. “You’ve grown so much, and it.. it does my heart good. I love you so much, my son.” 

Ritsu’s lip quivered as he was now crying emotionally. He raised an arm up to wipe away his tears. “M-mother… I.. I’ve always wanted to hear that from you..but.. I don’t deserve your praise.. Tohru-san was the one who inspired me to live for the sake of someone else in the first place.. Without her words, I’d probably be just as cowardly and weak as always..”

Okami walked closer and gently brought Ritsu’s arm down and tucked his loose hair behind his ear. “Ritsu, dear, It doesn’t matter who told you those words, what matters is you’ve taken them to heart, and you’re using them to inspire not only yourself, but Mitsuru-san as well.”

Ritsu stared at Okami as he absorbed her words and began to reflect. “M-maybe you’re right.. I just couldn’t bear seeing Mitchan-san like that when she means so much to- '' He stopped himself as he began to blush as he recalled Shigure’s sentiments from earlier. He lowered his head embarrassedly; not able to finish his sentence.

Okami tilted her head seemingly noticing his change in demeanor. “What’s wrong, Ritsu?”

“N-NOTHING!!” He shouted in his frantic state then tried to change the topic. “I- I mean! I should probably go! I don’t want to make Mitchan-san wait for me too long!!! T-thank you for your kind words, mother! I will do my best to continue making you proud!” He bowed appreciatively a couple times then began to run back outside.

Okami brought a hand up to her mouth and smiled in amusement as she started to piece things together in her head. _“Ritsu, no matter what, you will always make me proud.”_

* * *

  
  


“S-sorry for taking so long!” Ritsu said, still semi flustered as he made his way over to stand at Mitsuru’s side once more.

She smiled at him, happy to see him return. “It’s no problem, Ritchan-san! T-thank you again for everything today...I don’t know what I would have done today without you..” 

“M-MITCHAN-SAN, IT WAS NO TROUBLE AT ALL! I-I’M JUST SO HAPPY YOU’RE ABLE TO KEEP GOING!” He said as he tugged on his long strands of hair in the front. 

Mitsuru fidgeted with the manuscript then looked up into his eyes and spoke a bit bashfully. “Ritchan-san..? Would you like to come with me to the writing agency to drop off the manuscript? I.. I don’t blame you if you don’t want to, it might be boring.. But I could show you my office if you’d like..?” 

“O-of course!! I would love to go and see what it looks like, Mitchan-san!!” He eagerly offered as he genuinely was interested.

Mitsuru smiled at his willingness. In truth, she was mainly offering just because she didn’t want to part ways for the day just yet. 

As they began walking, she decided to ask something that was on her mind for a while.

“So how on earth did you manage to get the manuscript from Shigure-sensei anyways? Don’t tell me he was at the house all along!” She said irritably at the thought.

Ritsu’s cheeks reddened at the reminder of his encounter with Shigure. “H-he was. I am so sorry he does the things he does, Mitchan-san..” 

She gritted her teeth bitterly at hearing this. “That man! I can’t believe him! I keep telling my superiors about his horrible conduct towards me, but they never do anything about it, and they won’t let me work for a different writer either! I guess everyone just enjoys seeing me suffer!” She exhaled loudly in her frustration then saw the sad look in Ritsu’s eyes.

“W-well… everyone except you, Ritchan-san!” she smiled to try to reassure him since she didn’t want to worry him anymore than she already did today. 

“I am so sorry, MItchan-san.. If it were up to me, everyone would treat you with the respect and care you deserve! I tried to get Shigure-niisan to stop treating you so terribly and understand the impact of his actions, but.. I think he took enjoyment at my pleas instead..” He blushed knowing why Shigure was so amused.

Mitsuru halted in her tracks and looked at him with heartfelt eyes as it touched her to hear he went above and beyond for her. “You did that, Ritchan-san?” 

He gulped as he stared at her cute expression and blushed. “Y-yes..” He continued as he was feeling anxious again. “I-I’m so sorry I couldn’t do more though!! I don’t know if he’ll ever stop!! I’m so so sorry, Mitchan-san!!” 

She blushed at the thought of Ritsu standing up for her. “Don’t worry about it, Ritchan-san. I think getting Shigure-sensei to treat me like an actual human being is a lost cause anyways, so I don’t expect anyone to get through to him, but it means a lot that you tried.. Sincerely, thank you.” 

It saddened Ritsu to hear how she viewed the situation of her standing with Shigure, but he felt warm inside by receiving her thanks. “Mitchan-san..”

Mitsuru smiled happily as she tried to shift the focus onto a new topic. “In any case, I at least feel a thousand times more refreshed since I got to go to your family’s hot spring! You really weren’t kidding when you said it would help my mind relax! I really do feel more at peace now.” 

Ritsu smiled in return; happy to hear her visit to the hot spring had the positive effect on her he hoped it would. “I am so glad you enjoyed yourself, Mitchan-san!” He bowed politely. “Please, feel free to visit anytime, you will always be welcome by my parents and I!” 

Mitsuru felt a weird inner feeling of happiness at the thought of being accepted by his family.

They continued to talk about the hot spring all throughout the rest of the walk.

* * *

  
  


As they made it to Mitsuru’s place of employment, Ritsu stared up at it and began wondering with a sense of excitement what it looked like on the inside. “Is it really alright for me to go in, Mitchan-san?” 

Mitsuru nodded. “Of course! You’re with me, so it won’t be a problem. Hopefully it won’t take me too long to look over the manuscript and submit it.” She said as she pulled her employee ID card out from her purse and swiped it on the digital card reader; causing the doors to electronically open. 

Ritsu watched this and felt oddly fascinated by the security measures her building had. He followed behind her as they entered while taking in the sights with every step they took. They walked up the stairs until they’d made it to the top floor. “Wow, Mitchan-san! Your office is on the top? You must have a beautiful view!” 

Mitsuru smiled at this. “Yes it is! That’s at least one nice thing about my job given what i have to deal with..” She joked a bit resentfully then opened the door and allowed him to enter first. 

Ritsu walked in and took it all in. Her office was a shared work space with four other desks; all of which were currently empty. 

“As usual, Shigure-sensei caused me to delay, so the others finished before me..” She chuckled wryly and rubbed the back of her neck.

“Hmm..I want to guess which desk is yours!” Ritsu said enthusiastically as he began walking around and tried his best to figure it out without her telling him. As he was observing the outer contents on the desks to try to help him with context clues, he suddenly noticed something which definitely gave him his answer. “Mitchan-san! I found it! Is this your family?!” 

Mitsuru stood in place and watched with amusement as he tried to figure her out, then once he asked his question in a highly curious tone, she realized he was inquiring about the picture frame she had on her desk. She walked over and smiled as she looked at it fondly. "Yes, this is me with my mother and father from about 2 years ago.” 

Ritsu looked down at it again and then shifted his gaze on to Mitsuru. “Wow, Mitchan-san, you resemble your mother so much!”

Mitsuru giggled at his reaction. “I get that a lot! People say I inherited my looks from my mother and my personality from my father, mostly because he was a hard worker, but a bit reckless like me..” she scratched her lip embarrassedly. 

Ritsu chuckled in response then continued to stare at the photo. “They look so nice, Mitchan-san!” He paused for a moment then continued in a more serious tone. “Do you think they’d approve of me?” 

Mitsuru blushed a bit by his sudden question and the implications of it. “W-what do you mean, Ritchan-san? Of course they would! Why wouldn’t they?” 

Ritsu flushed by her reaction; worriedly thinking it was the wrong thing to say. “I-I’M SORRY!!! I JUST MEAN- Y-YOU HAD TO GET MY MOTHER’S APPROVAL BEFORE WE COULD TRULY BE FRIENDS- SO.. W-WOULD I HAVE TO GET YOUR PARENTS APPROVAL IF-”

Mitsuru put a hand on his shoulder and tried to soothe him for fear of someone coming in and yelling at them to be quiet. “Ritchan-san, please! It’s okay, don’t worry about that! I know my parents would love you! Besides, they aren’t very strict, so they’d just be happy that I have someone who makes me as happy as you do!” 

Ritsu blushed by this then saw how serious she looked and felt reassured. “... I hope you’re right.. D-do you see them often?”

Mitsuru rubbed her arm up and down as her expression dropped. “Well.. there’s a bit of a distance between my parents and I.. They live out in Hokkaido, so I only really see them for special occasions..”

Ritsu felt bad by this and worried he’d inadvertently made her sad. “M-MItchan-san, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know!!” 

Mitsuru realized he felt responsible for her change in mood, so she quickly regained her prior excitement. “Don’t be sorry! Like I said, I know they’d approve of you, so you have nothing to worry about!” She smiled as she took her seat at her desk and set the manuscript down as she started getting to work.

Ritsu tried hard to believe in what she said then let his self loathing slip out as he uttered weakly. “E-even with me being… the way I am…?” 

Mitsuru perked up at his almost inaudible words and looked at him and said with a sweet compassionate tone. “Of course they would.” 

Ritsu fumbled with his kimono by her reassurance as he looked down at the photo again. He began to think that if her parents were able to raise someone as wonderful as Mitsuru, they couldn’t be so different themselves. He couldn’t help but really want to meet them someday and thank them for bringing Mitsuru into the world, but he tried not to dwell on it too long since he didn’t want to let his emotions escape him and cause her to get distracted from getting her work done, so he tried to stay quiet so she could focus.

* * *

  
  


After about twenty minutes of silence, Mitsuru let out a panicked yelp as she stared down at the manuscript in horror as her hand trembled over the top of the last page.

“W-what is it, Mitchan-san?!” He walked over to see where she was pointing, but once she felt his presence behind her, she quickly covered both hands over the line in question and turned around and looked at him with a deep crimson engulfing her cheeks.

“D-DON’T LOOK! S-SHIGURE-SENSEI SCRIBBLED SOMETHING AT THE TOP TO TEASE ME!!!” 

Ritsu swiftly covered his eyes and turned the other way to respect her wishes. “I- I DIDN’T SEE IT, MITCHAN-SAN; I PROMISE I WON’T LOOK!”

Mitsuru blushed furiously as she re-read what Shigure wrote. _“Mitchan and Ritchan sitting in a tree~ K I S S I N G~”_

She clutched her pencil and began erasing it madly while mindful not to be too forceful and cause the paper to rip. _“Urrrrghhh!!! What is he, 12?! He’s lucky he’s not here right now!! Why does he think my love life is any of his business?!!!”_ She clenched her teeth angrily still with a deep blush as she erased it while her mind raced. 

Ritsu continued to shield his eyes, but the sounds of Mitsuru groaning in irritation began to concern him. “M-Mitchan-san, is everything okay?” 

Mitsuru let out an exasperated sigh as she made sure it was completely erased. “Yes.. everything is fine now, but i’m going to have to give Shigure-sensei a piece of my mind later!” 

Ritsu was highly curious by whatever Shigure could’ve done this time, but seeing as how it caused Mitsuru so much stress, he didn’t want to press her to find out. “I-I’m sorry for whatever Shigure-niisan did, Mitchan-san…”

Mitsuru stood up from her desk and placed her hands gently on top of his. “You can put your hands down now, i’m finished.” She said still a touch flustered from what Shigure wrote. 

Ritsu did as she said and looked at her with concern; noting her expression, but again not wanting to continue to work her up over it. “I-I’m glad you got it done before the deadline at least, Mitchan-san!” He said to try to boost morale and bring her back to her usual spirits. 

His efforts seemed to work as she smiled at him and grabbed the manuscript. “Thank you, Ritchan-san. Would you mind waiting here a moment while I submit this to my superior?” 

“Of course!” He said as she closed the door; leaving him alone in her office for a moment. He walked back over to look at the picture frame and once again began to ponder what meeting her parents would be like. 

_“I.. I wonder if her parents would prefer if I.. could be more of the man Mitchan-san deserves for me to be..”_ He quickly put both his hands on his head as he realized what he was letting his mind think. _“N-no! S-She’s just my friend..! I- I’m not..- Shigure-niisan was just teasing me.. I’m not really falling in love with her.. A-am I? I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, so how would I know.. All I know is I can’t stop thinking about her... Is- is this what love feels like…? GAHHH!!! N-not that it matters!! There’s no way Mitchan-san could ever love me in return if she ever finds out about the curse!!!”_

He began to remember earlier when Mitsuru tried to hug him and he had to restrain her. _“I want to hug her back, but i-if we continue to get so close.. She’s bound to find out soon enough.. What will I do if she is disgusted to see me as a monkey..”_ He let his thoughts continue to taunt him as he was having this epiphany. _“What will I do if Mitchan-san rejects-”_

After only about a minute, Mitsuru returned. “Sorry to make you wait! Are you ready to go?” she said then noticed Ritsu appeared very distracted as if he didn’t hear her. “Ritchan-san?” she walked closer and put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

He flinched at her physical contact. “M-Mitchan-san!” he blushed as he was staring into the eyes of the woman he only moments prior realized he was indeed in love with. “I.. I’m sorry I suppose I was just… thinking about something.. W-we can go..”

Mitsuru’s expression made her concern apparent. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked with worry in her voice.

Ritsu struggled to look her in the eye now after this. He knew he still needed to sort out his feelings before he could even remotely tell her any of the pressing thoughts on his mind. “N-no. I’m sorry.. It’s nothing.” He looked at the photo one more time before they exited her office and closed the door.

Mitsuru noticed this and smiled despite still wondering what he was so deep in thought about. “Ritchan-san, we should take a picture together someday! I would love to put it on my desk next to my family photo!”

Ritsu felt warm inside at her suggestion. There was something endearing about her wanting to display the image of them together on her desk. He tried to dismiss his prior thoughts from flooding his mind for the time being as he offered her a gentle smile in return. 

“That would be wonderful, Mitchan-san.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so ah it's 4 in the morning, I really need to go to bed, so i'll try to make this quick xD Basically i originally wrote it where after Ritsu's mom gives him that talk, he gets so emotional, he hugs her and transforms! I had 4 pages written of that exchange and how Okami had to hide Ritsu and keep Mitsuru from finding out! It was fun to write, but I just worried it was kinda jumping the gun since I thought it was sorta unnecessary and I do still wanna save the transformation part for later hehe. (Not that Ritsu can't transform more than once, but it really needs to have its impact, and I don't want to waste it on a joke for lack of a better word.)
> 
> Anyways!!! I hope Ritsu realizing he is in love with Mitsuru wasn't out of nowhere or forced, I just figured he needed to have an epiphany of some sort to help him realize it cause even though I do want this to be a slow burn, I also kinda want them to realize their feelings soon. I'm just dying to get to the parts coming up cause I know I won't have writers block for that! heheh xDD As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!


	9. I Wish I Could, But I Can't...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well another 4AM all nighter so here's chapter 9! xD I honestly have no idea why I get sudden waves of inspiration so late at night to the point i legitimately lose track of time lol. Like i literally had a 2 hour song loop as background noise, and didn't even realize it stopped playing after like 40 minutes. X_X Anyways! I was kinda worried with the last chapter having Ritsu realize his feelings, but after much time actually planning things out a bit better in my head, I think I can make it work from here on out without it feeling too forced XD

* * *

The sun was beginning to set as Ritsu and Mitsuru left the writing agency and were now heading in the direction of her apartment to say goodnight for the evening. 

Ritsu blushed as he would occasionally shift his eyes on her when she wasn’t looking as he continued to contemplate what he’d come to the realization of earlier. He tried his hardest not to attract attention to himself, but he worried since he was highly prone to cracking under pressure, he’d spill everything if she questioned him, and he knew he still needed a lot of time to figure it all out on his own before he could talk to her about his feelings. Nevertheless, Mitsuru didn’t seem to notice his subtle passing glances, but she did break the silence first.

“Hey, Ritchan-san.. I know it’s getting late, but I must admit I haven’t eaten anything all day.. W-would you like to stop somewhere first? I can treat this time..” she offered timidly.

Ritsu perked his head up at her suggestion and knew it was risky to continue to be with her in his current mental state, but he couldn’t possibly say no based on how she’d asked so sweetly. “O-of course, Mitchan-san! I-I’m sorry you haven’t eaten all day! H-Had I known, I would’ve brought you something while you were working!!” He bowed anxiously. 

Mitsuru giggled a little at his kind gesture. “That’s so sweet of you, but don’t worry about it! I think this works out better so we can eat together.. You must be hungry too aren’t you?” 

Ritsu gulped a little then put his hands over his stomach as he hadn’t even realized until she pointed it out how hungry he was. “I- I suppose I am.. B-but Mitchan-san, you don’t have to pay for me! I.. I can-”

Mitsuru interjected before he could finish. “Ritchan-san, I want to do it this time. I’d like to return the favor for everything you did for me today. You really went above and beyond for me and I.. I can’t express how much it all meant to me..” she blushed. “Please let me do this.”

Ritsu stared at her with deep eyes as his heart began to race. “Mitchan-san.. I-..” He lifted a hand up to rest over top of his heart as he exhaled to try to release his nerves and return to a normal heart rate. “Thank you.. I appreciate your generosity..I would love to eat together.” 

Mitsuru felt happy he was willing to take her up on her offer. “Thank you, Ritchan-san! Alright it’s settled! What’s your favorite food?”

Ritsu paused for a moment as he tried to think. Nobody had ever inquired about this question before, and it wasn’t something he’d given much thought towards before. “Hm, I suppose I enjoy yakisoba and takoyaki the best, but i’m sure you’d like something other than takoyaki again.” he giggled a little. “If it’s not too much trouble then, would you like to get yakisoba?”

Mitsuru clasped her hands together eagerly. “Alright, yakisoba it is then!”

Ritsu blushed at her cheerful demeanor and once more thought how much it made him happy to see her this way as opposed to how broken and downtrodden she was earlier. It really affected him more than he thought seeing her so shattered the way she was. _“Mitchan-san..”_ He began to think deeply. _“I hope I can give you a reason to smile everyday if I can when we spend time together.. Your smile makes me feel.. a sense of happiness and purpose.. Maybe this is what Tohru-san was talking about that day on the roof...”_

MItsuru raised a curious eyebrow as she noticed Ritsu grow distracted again, but she decided to put her curiosity aside for now and see if he’d feel more open to talk once they got to the restaurant. 

* * *

  
  


As they sat down on opposite sides of the table once they arrived at the yakisoba restaurant, Ritsu tried his best to stop letting his mind wander and just enjoy the moment since he truly did value every minute he spent with Mitsuru. 

As soon as the food arrived, Mitsuru’s mouth watered as she stared down at it with hungry eyes as she gripped her chopsticks readily.

“This looks amazing!! Forgive me in advance if I eat like a pig, Ritchan-san.” she chuckled as she scratched her lip embarrassedly. 

Ritsu smiled and brought a hand up to chuckle in amusement. “Not at all, Mitchan-san, you haven’t eaten all day, so I think you’ve earned the right to eat however you’d like. Kagura-chan would be proud.” He laughed as he couldn’t help equating Mitsuru’s pig comment to Kagura. 

“Oh really? Is she a bit of a slob when she eats like me?” She laughed, still feeling sort of embarrassed to admit this side of herself to Ritsu.

Ritsu realized he was inadvertently badmouthing Kagura now when that wasn’t his intent. “O-oh no, not at all! She’s not a slob! B-but she.. What you said just made me think of her..” he trailed off sheepishly not wanting to give away anyone else’s secrets.

Mitsuru now felt confused not knowing exactly which part of what she said made him think of Kagura if she wasn’t a slob, but she could tell he was getting uncomfortable, so she quickly tried to ease the situation. “D-don’t worry about it then, Ritchan-san! Maybe someday I can meet her and see what you’re talking about!” She smiled.

Ritsu panicked by this but continued to try acting normal. “A-ah! M-maybe! ..She.. she seems to really like you from what I’ve told her of you..” 

Mitsuru blushed now at the knowledge that he talks to his family about her. “R-really?” She felt deeply touched by this fact.

Ritsu looked down at the table and felt his face heat up a bit. “Y-yes.. B-but don’t worry! Our conversations are always very positive!! S-she.. is very happy I have a friend at long last.. I can thank her for a lot of my confidence boosts I've had over the past few weeks as well..” 

Mitsuru stared with a bit of emotion seeping into her eyes at hearing this. “That’s so wonderful.. I am so glad you’re sharing this with me. I definitely would like to meet her one of these days then if possible!”

Ritsu smiled. “I’m sure she’d be happy to meet you too! She can be a bit of a handful sometimes, mostly if you provoke her, but she has a heart of gold and always means well.” 

Mitsuru smiled in return then began to eat as she couldn’t take looking at it any longer, which Ritsu respected as he also began to eat. 

The sounds of them eating and the ambience of the restaurant were the only sounds that filled their space for a couple minutes until Mitsuru finished her bowl and set it down. “Ah! That was so good! I definitely see why this is one of your favorites, Ritchan-san!” She quickly grabbed a napkin and covered her mouth and faced the other way once she noticed Ritsu was looking at her.

He brought his chopsticks down and laughed a little at her reaction. “I’m so happy you finally got to eat, Mitchan-san. I didn’t think you were a slob by the way, so you don’t have to be embarrassed.”

Mitsuru blushed as she wiped her face and brought the napkin down and rested her elbow on the table and cupped her cheek in her palm. “Hehe, thanks for reassuring me, I just don’t want to look bad in front of you, Ritchan-san!” 

Ritsu looked at her feeling puzzled by her statement and spoke defensively. “Y-you don’t ever have to worry about such things!! You’ll never look bad in my eyes, Mitchan-san!!” 

Mitsuru removed her hand from her cheek and lowered it back down to her side as she looked at how serious his expression grew at this. “Ritchan-san.. Thank you.. The same goes for you.. I don’t think you could ever do anything that would make me ever think less of you.” 

Ritsu again felt his heart race as it did earlier then he worried about if her seeing him as a monkey would ever change her opinion of him. He shook his head a bit aggressively to dismiss these thoughts. “T-THANK YOU, MITCHAN-SAN!” he blurted before covering his mouth with both hands and fumbled in his seat as he desperately fought for control to keep his emotions in check. 

Mitsuru watched Ritsu have his mini manic episode and grew concerned again. “R-Ritchan-san, are you okay?” 

Ritsu removed his hands from his mouth and sat up in his seat and mustered the most reassuring expression he could manage. “I’m so sorry Mitchan-san, It’s just.. t-thank you.. I know I am not always the best at knowing how to receive such kind words, so please forgive me for my overreaction..”

It seemed his word choice did successfully draw her fears off the topic for the time being, much to his relief. 

“It’s alright Ritchan-san! I know someday you’ll realize how much you deserve the words I say to you.” She looked down and idly traced a finger across the table and appeared like what she was thinking was something hard for her to say. “You know, you’re such a delightful person in my life and.. I can’t imagine not knowing you anymore..” 

Ritsu clutched his hands under the table and gripped tightly on his kimono as his face flushed by her words as he feared he would crack any moment when he still wasn’t ready to confess his scatterbrained feelings that he’d barely had time to process himself. He began to sweat profusely as he tried to carefully choose his words. “M-Mitchan-san I- think i’m.. you.. I- I mean...I.. I agree with you, I- I feel the same way..”

Mitsuru stared at him with eyes filled with intrigue as she held onto his every word, but that was quickly interrupted as the waiter brought the bill to the table. “Here you go, have a great evening, and thank you for dining with us tonight!”

Mitsuru picked it up and looked back at Ritsu wondering if he was trying to say more, but he now appeared very vulnerable as if that interruption silenced him. She put the money on the table and smiled as she stood up and put a hand on his shoulder which made him perk his head back up and look at her. 

“Ritchan-san, thank you, that means a lot to hear from you. I’m so glad we did this, are you ready to go?” 

“M-me too, Mitchan-san.. I’m ready.” He stood up still feeling incredibly emotional.

* * *

  
  
  


As they made it up the stairs leading to her apartment, Ritsu spoke nervously. “Thank you so much again for treating, Mitchan-san..”

Mitsuru unlocked the door and turned to him happily. “Oh, Ritchan-san, it’s really my pleasure! Like I said, you did so much for me.. Come to think of it, today was quite a day, huh?” 

The events of the day all flashed through Ritsu’s mind in a quick reel, and upon reflection, to say it was quite a day was a bit of an understatement. “Y-yes it w-was..” 

Mitsuru stood at the doorway and stared at him noting he was still acting a bit skittish, so she continued. 

“I’m so sorry I worried you earlier the way I did.. I promise I won’t let myself get that way anymore.. I think knowing I have someone who cares about me makes me know I can’t be so selfish with my life anymore.. You really helped me realize my purpose to keep going Ritchan-san..” she rubbed her arm up and down as her cheeks grew a cute shade of pink. 

“I-i’m so glad, Mitchan-san!” He said while knowing he really needed to leave as soon as possible as he was increasingly reaching his emotional breaking point since the butterflies in his chest were making it almost hard to breathe. “I- I must be going now! H-have a wonderful night!” he bowed his whole body, but as he turned to leave she tugged on his kimono sleeve.

“R-Ritchan-san, h-hold on a moment.. Can..-” she paused as she swallowed shyly, but she summoned the courage to ask. “C-can I hug you?”

Ritsu’s eyes shot open widely at her request. He normally didn’t have the ability to tell her no, but this was the one thing in the world he absolutely could not say yes to. He backed away hastily and closed his eyes as he didnt want to see the dejected expression he already caught a tiny glimpse of on her face, which pained him so much. “M-MITCHAN-SAN- I- I’M SO SORRY!!!!! I- I- REALLY WISH I COULD BUT- I-” He clutched his hands on his head and began swinging around crazily. “I- I JUST CAN’T!! I AM SO SO SORRY!!!” 

Mitsuru backed up as well, sort of taken aback by his rejection, as she stepped into her apartment and removed her shoes and bowed. “I-i’m sorry, Ritchan-san! I shouldn’t have been so forward! I- i understand if you don’t-”

As Mitsuru continued to apologize, it tore Ritsu up inside to listen to, and he began to cry since all he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and comfort her, but the world was against him since he couldn’t even give her so much as an explanation as to why he couldn’t do such an innocent act with her; which she probably really needed given what she went through today. 

As Mitsuru was going to just stay inside and let herself feel rejected, she noticed him begin to cry, which made her realize that he likely wasn’t denying her because he was disgusted at the thought of hugging her, so she decided instead to try to understand.

“R-Ritchan-san, a-are you claustrophobic?” She stepped out hesitantly.

Ritsu kept his hands on his head anxiously and considered if saying yes to her question would be considered a lie since he always tried his best to be truthful. He spoke in a shaky sniffly voice. 

“I-It’s not that i’m claustrophobic- I- just can’t hug.. w-women..” He blushed as he realized how that probably sounded and corrected himself frantically. “I- I MEAN!!!! I CAN’T EVEN HUG MY OWN MOTHER, MITCHAN-SAN!!! IT HURTS ME SO MUCH!!!” He now buried his face in his hands and sobbed harder.

Mitsuru now was very perplexed and confused by this new development, but suddenly it started to click as she remembered her earlier hug being rebuffed as well. “Y-you _can’t_..? What do you mean by that exactly..? A-are you scared of affection..? A-Ah! d-does it bother you when I’ve put my hand on your shoulder, because if so, i’ll stop if you-!”

“N-No that doesn’t bother me!!! I-it’s just h-hugs.. I- I can’t.. I can’t explain anymore than that..” He said defeated as tears still streamed down his face.

Mitsuru blinked as she tried her hardest to understand and see it from his point of view despite how little sense it made to her. “O-okay.. From now on I will respect that you don’t want to be hugged..” 

Ritsu wiped his tears and looked at the poor woman in front of him who only wanted a simple hug and had to be burdened by his curse without knowing it. He wanted to correct her and say it wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but rather he physically could not. He stepped closer and took her hands in his to sort of soften the blow. “M-Mitchan-san.. I wish I could-... but I think s-someday maybe you’ll understand..” 

Mitsuru blushed as she looked down at their hands interlaced. She now wanted to do all the understanding she could to learn why exactly he was okay with most forms of touch except hugging. “Okay..” she said a bit absentmindedly as she tried to make it make sense, but to little success. 

Ritsu could tell she wasn’t completely satisfied with his answer, but he knew he wasn’t ready to tell her any more, so he tried to end the day on a more positive note. “Mitchan-san.. I.. I really do care for you so much.. I- I hope you still know that..” he blushed while still feeling incredibly overwhelmed by this whole interaction as his internal guilt ate up at him. 

Mitsuru looked at him still with a hint of confusion, but she managed to smile as his words managed to talk her down for the time being. She repeated his sentiments from earlier. “Thank you, Ritchan-san.. I agree with you, I feel the same way..”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehe okay so we're back on the angst train with this ending lol. I probably have more quirky anecdotes to tell, but I have to work in 6 hours so i'll just think of some later XD


	10. The Man In The Mirror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this chapter was actually going to be a lot longer, but then I got to..... a certain scene... and realized I needed to split them apart so they'd be two separate chapters instead of one giant chapter, so i'm sorry if this one sorta ends feeling too abrupt! I really hope the wait will be worth it though hehehe. XD

* * *

Ritsu woke up early the next morning in a cold sweat after all the guilt from last night kept flashing through his mind to the point he barely got a wink of sleep. The nightmares he’d had of Mitsuru’s sad eyes at being rejected by him were simply too much for him to bear. 

_“Mitchan-san.. I-If only I could tell you.. I.. I’m so so sorry…you’re the last person I ever want to hurt..You mean so much to me, and I-”_

He continued to wallow in his agony until finally he shook his head and decided that he would try to be productive about sorting out his feelings today instead of letting his negative thoughts consume him.

He got up from bed and walked over to his closet to get dressed, but as his hand hovered over a red floral patterned kimono, he shifted his eyes onto what he had hanging up a few hangers beside it. He stared at the clothing item for a moment as his trembling hands contemplated his options before he finally settled on it and removed it from the hanger. 

He stood in front of his full length mirror and began to button up the white long sleeved dress shirt and adjusted the collar and cufflinks neatly. Once he felt satisfied, he put on a pair of beige dress pants complete with a black belt and tucked his shirt in. As he’d finished dressing, he walked over to his bedside table where his usual bow that he’d put in his hair sat, but instead, he opened the top drawer and dug up a dark purple ribbon. He kneeled in front of the mirror and gathered up his long beautiful hair and styled it into a loose ponytail, while the long strands still framed his face on both sides.

Once finished, he stared at his reflection not quite knowing how to feel about the man who was staring back. 

_“I.. wonder what Mitchan-san would think if she could see me now.. I- I know she said she and her parents would accept me no matter how I am.. But would she actually like me better this way..?”_

He shook his head to dismiss the thought as he decided he needed to get out of the house to help clear his mind. 

* * *

  
  


All the while, Mitsuru was sitting at her dining room table staring down at her breakfast not really eating as she cupped both her cheeks in her hands while very deep in thought.

_“There must be some reason.. I know it’s normal for him to break down over a lot of things, but that reaction was a bit too over the top.. He said he wanted to hug me, but he can’t.. What could that mean..?”_

She tried to pick apart every single interaction she’d ever had with Ritsu with a fine tooth comb to see if there was any sort of clue or indication that might explain why he would react in such a manner towards the simple act of being hugged.

Suddenly a lightbulb went off in her head and her expression saddened. 

_“I wonder if Ritchan-san has some sort of post traumatic stress due to whatever he’s been through.. I- I can’t pretend to know what his life’s been like since he’s rather secretive on the subject, but he did make it sound like there’s some family issues.. Even back then, he acted jittery when I questioned him..”_

She recalled the events of that day when she and Ritsu got takoyaki together and how he revealed that he was lucky to have loving parents whereas other members of his family were not so fortunate.

_“But.. he said he can’t even hug his own mother… Okami-sama told me the day I met her that Ritchan-san means the absolute world to her, and he loves her so dearly as well, so I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t be able to hug even her of all people...”_

She scrambled her brain as she realized she was pretty much back to square one with her theorizing. She let out a loud defeated sigh as she gave up.

_“I know it’s not my place to try and pretend I understand if it’s something he doesn’t want to talk about.. It just hurts so much to see someone I hold so dear to my heart cry like that.. I really wish I could hug him, but I suppose all I can do is take his word for it and not discuss it unless he decides to feel comfortable enough to open up to me about it..”_ She stared down at her phone as she considered calling him, but she hesitated. 

_“..Maybe I’ll just pay him a visit later..”_

* * *

  
  


After Ritsu left the house, he made his way to the bookstore and bought several books that dealt with the subject of love so he could better understand his newfound feelings for Mitsuru. 

He blushed madly in embarrassment when the cashier giggled as she scanned all of the books and looked at him with a knowing expression, but once he paid and was handed the bag, he left in a hurry before a hysterical episode could occur.

As he began to walk back in the direction of his home with quickened steps, a voice suddenly called out to him. 

“Ritchan-san?!” 

This caused the color to drain from his face as he froze dead in his tracks; but when he turned around, it was none other than Tohru Honda instead of Mitsuru, both of whom were the only two who referred to him by this name. 

“T-TOHRU-SAN?” He shouted in his flustered state and hid the bag behind his back worriedly not wanting anyone to see what he purchased. 

She stepped closer and looked at him with surprise. “Wow, I almost didn’t recognize it was you! You look so different! Is there something special going on for you today?” 

“A-Ah-! N-no there isn't! I suppose I decided to try something a little different today-! W-what are you doing up so early, Tohru-san?” He inquired once he realized it was summer vacation for her as well, so she couldn’t possibly be up this early to go to school, plus it was the weekend now. 

Tohru smiled then raised up the bag she was also carrying. “I decided to wake up before the others so I could surprise them with their favorites for breakfast! I made sure not to get any leeks since Kyo-kun hates them so much!” She giggled sweetly with a blush.

Ritsu blushed in return by this as he also recalled how Mitsuru was so interested in what his favorite foods were the previous night, which he couldn’t help but let tug at his heartstrings. 

“T-Tohru-san, that’s so thoughtful of you..” 

Tohru titled her head curiously as she finally noticed him hiding something behind his back. “Did you buy something as well, Ritchan-san?” 

When Tohru made a point to direct attention to his bag, Ritsu flailed around anxiously and dropped it, which caused the books to come spilling out. “A-AHH!!” He shrieked mortified by this and threw himself onto the ground to try covering them up.

Tohru was more curious now as she bent down to pick one up he missed. She lifted it up and analyzed the title. “‘ _Am I Worthy Of Her Love?_ ’” She said and blinked a few times.

Ritsu blushed furiously as she spoke aloud the title of one of his books, so he quickly grabbed it from her hands and threw it back in the bag haphazardly. 

“I-I’M SO SORRY!!! I- I DIDN’T MEAN TO GRAB IT SO FORCEFULLY FROM YOU!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME I- I JUST- TOHRU-SAN, I’M BEGGING YOU, PLEASE DON’T TELL THE OTHERS WHAT YOU JUST SAW!!!!” He folded his hands into a prayer and got down on both his knees as if at her mercy.

Tohru stood and stared down at the man in befuddlement before getting a twinkle in her eyes once she realized what this all meant. “Ritchan-san, you’re in love?!” She exclaimed with an eager voice.

Ritsu looked up at her desperately with wide eyes. “P-PLEASE, NOT SO LOUD!!!!” 

As he pretty much confirmed her question, she lowered her voice but didn't double down on her excitement. “I promise your secret is safe with me. I am so happy for you, this is such wonderful news! Isn’t love a beautiful thing?”

Ritsu flushed at her words, then figured since she promised she wouldn’t tell, he decided he would confide in her in exchange for her secrecy. “I-I’m not entirely sure how to answer that since i’ve never felt this way about anyone before.. S-so that’s why I purchased these books to help me learn…” 

Tohru smiled at his wholesomeness then decided to try inspiring him again as she did back on the roof that day. “Ritchan-san, you are plenty worthy of love! You don’t need a book to tell you that!”

“B-but, Tohru-san..” He gulped as he feared talking about it, but since Tohru was allowed to know about the curse, he decided he would share what happened last night to hopefully gain her insight on the situation. 

“Y-yesterday she wanted to hug me and I- I couldn’t do it even though I wanted to so badly!! I-I’m so terrified that if she sees me in my cursed form, she will be repulsed and never want to see me again.. Akito-san has always told us that will happen when outsiders see us.. I don’t want that to happen, and I don’t want her to have to lose her memories either if word gets out!!! I- I don’t know what i’m going to do, Tohru-san!!” He covered his face in his hands as he was admitting all his thoughts out loud.

Tohru paused as she absorbed all of what he told her and felt immensely sorry he was going through such a rough predicament. 

“I must confess, when I first learned of the curse, I was _surprised_ to say the least, but I certainly wasn’t _repulsed,_ so I am living proof that Akito-san is not always right about that! I care far too much about everyone to ever dream about turning away now! I do understand your concerns though..I’m sure it’s not so easy to tell her about the curse since even I had to get special permission, so I can’t tell you what to do.. but perhaps this woman will have the same mindset as I do and she won’t abandon you if she ever somehow finds out!” 

Ritsu stared at Tohru with deep eyes filled with wonderment as she once again managed to say exactly what he so desperately needed to hear. “T-Tohru-san…” 

Tohru smiled happily that her encouragement seemed to work. “By the way, if I may ask, is the woman you’re in love with, Mitchan-san?” 

Ritsu flushed anxiously at being called out. Were his feelings for Mitsuru that obvious? 

“A-AHHHHH!! I- I SHOULDN’T KEEP YOU ANY LONGER, TOHRU-SAN!!!! I AM SO SORRY IF I’VE CAUSED YOU TO DELAY WITH YOUR SURPRISE OF MAKING BREAKFAST FOR THE OTHERS!!! T-THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR KIND WORDS, I MUST BE GOING NOW!!!!” He bowed crazily several times before running away. 

Tohru giggled as she watched him run off. _“Hehe, I knew it.”_

* * *

  
  


Despite the fact Ritsu was home alone since his parents were staying at the hot spring resort for the weekend, he still felt compelled to lock himself in his room so nobody could somehow enter and tease him about reading these love books. 

He’d spent a good 5 hours reading and felt a bit more in tune with his ever growing feelings, but suddenly the sound of the doorbell ringing made him shoot up out of his seat and hide the book under his pillow frantically.

_“I-I’m not expecting any visitors, am I..? I wonder if it’s Kagura-chan wanting to borrow another kimono..”_

He got up and made his way to the front door and opened it before instantly wishing he could’ve had time to mentally prepare had he known who it was going to be.

“R-....Ritchan-san..” Mitsuru uttered softly in astonishment as she looked him up and down with wide eyes as this was the first time she’d seen him dress in men’s clothing. 

Ritsu blushed once he realized why she was so stunned and tried to hide himself behind the door as he wasn’t sure if her reaction was positive or negative just yet. “M-Mitchan-san!! A-Ah-! I- Erm-! W-what brings you here?” 

Mitsuru still appeared rather caught off guard at seeing him in his current appearance. “I-I’m so sorry to stop by so unexpectedly like this! I knew I should’ve called first!! I just- I.. wanted to make sure you were okay..” She trailed her words as her eyes still were glued to him curiously.

Ritsu cautiously opened the door and stood before her once more. He couldn’t believe she was the one expressing remorse over last night since he felt the roles should be reversed. 

“P-please don’t be concerned over me, Mitchan-san!! If anything, I’ve been so worried about you!!” He exclaimed then looked down sadly. “..I’m.. I’m so sorry about yesterday..”

Mitsuru brought both hands up to her chest and looked at him with deeply compassionate eyes. 

“Please do not apologize for anything! I care so much about you, so the last thing I ever want to do is force you to do something you cannot do! We can just put what happened last night behind us if it’ll help ease both of our guilt..” She resolved not to bring up any of her theories and just try to move forward instead.

Ritsu felt he was going to tear up again, but he knew the last thing Mitsuru needed was more stress on his behalf. “M-Mitchan-san..I- I care so much about you too.. If that is what you want to do, I am willing...” He said shyly. 

Mitsuru smiled a bit, feeling better. “It’s such a beautiful day out, would you like to walk around the estate again?”

Ritsu was staring at Mitsuru almost in a trance then snapped out of it by her suggestion. “Y-yes, I could use some time out of the house…” He said as he’d been reading for hours and definitely could use some time to stretch his legs. He considered again what Tohru had told him earlier as he put his dress shoes on and stepped out.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so again sorry it ends on a cliffhanger like that, but the conversation between Mitsuru and Ritsu is going to be a whole entire thing, so I think this was for the best XD I already have most of it written, so hopefully i'll have the next chapter by Thursday or just sometime very soon!! Aside from work, I really have nothing else to do. ^_^; I truly do want to perfect it to the best of my ability and make it as good as i've had it in my head though! 
> 
> Also I just HAD to have Ritsu go to the bookstore to buy books on love since this is the same precious sweetheart who bought books about fruit instead of buying actual fruit, so you know he'd totally be that pure lolol. Also I hope I wrote Tohru okay!!! I honestly feel like all the secondary characters for this story are nothing but a bunch of teases (Except maybe Okami idk) lmao. But for real, in episode 19 Tohru's knowing smile at the end when Ritsu and Mitsuru were being all adorable spoke volumes XD  
> I'll see you in the next one......


	11. Fluttering Hearts Amidst Cherry Blossom Petals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost, I am SO sorry it took me nearly 2 weeks to get this chapter posted! I kinda psyched myself out with this one cause I was having doubts in my abilities to make it as good as i've imagined it, but in the end, I was able to pour A LOT more heart and soul into it since this is the chapter I've been the most passionate about, so I pray to god the wait was worth it!!! XD At least I got it in time for Valentines Day so the symbolism is there at least haha xD I'll have quite a bit to say when this chapter is done, so with all that out of the way, just get ready.

* * *

As Mitsuru and Ritsu began walking along the path outside his home, the cherry blossom petals were falling in a slow yet graceful pattern all around them due to the slight breeze in the air. Mitsuru looked up to take in this beautiful scenery before shifting her attention back onto Ritsu who seemed like he had a lot on his mind. She observed him again before deciding to address the elephant in the room since she couldn't help wondering if his change in appearance had anything to do with the events of yesterday; particularly when he asked if her parents would accept him the way he is.

“You.. you look so different today, Ritchan-san. Why did you decide to change?” 

Ritsu shuddered by her question and put his hands in his pockets to hide the fact they were trembling. “I.. I just thought I’d try it.. I-It’s been a long time since i’ve dressed this way.. D-do you not like it? I- I can go inside and change right away if you want me to!!” He panicked genuinely thinking she hated it. 

Mitsuru was perplexed by his reaction and tried to console him. “N-no, that’s not it at all! You look very handsome!” She blushed then continued. “I-I mean-! I- I just want to make sure you’re comfortable and not just changing yourself for anyone else’s sake!!” 

Ritsu’s cheeks reddened by her compliment as he tried his hardest to explain so she wouldn’t think it was her fault he changed. 

“I- I just.. I do want to have the confidence to overcome my insecurities someday.. S-so today, I took a small step towards achieving that.. I may not have the courage to do this again tomorrow or even the next day, but today felt right to try..” He hoped that answer was honest enough, since in and of itself, it was the truth. 

Mitsuru stared at him sort of surprised by this and decided to be happy for him. “If that is what you’ve decided, I will support your decision completely, Ritchan-san! That outfit really does look nice on you, but then again you’ll always look lovely no matter what you wear! What matters the most is that you’re comfortable in your own skin.” She smiled earnestly. 

Ritsu felt warm inside by her unwavering understanding and acceptance. “Thank you, Mitchan-san.. You are so wonderful to me..” 

She nodded happily and spoke as they kept walking. “Again, i’m so sorry for inviting myself here without warning, I just wanted to see you face to face. I hope I didn’t intrude at a bad time..”

“O-OF COURSE NOT! PLEASE DON’T BE SORRY, YOU DIDN’T INTERRUPT ANYTHING!! I WAS JUST READING BEFORE YOU CAME HERE!” He admitted frantically. 

Mitsuru lit up at the topic of literature. “Oh, you were? That’s great! Isn’t reading such a fun little escape from reality?” 

Ritsu began to tremble again at the knowledge that he wasn’t exactly reading the sort of fairytale stories Mitsuru was such a big fan of.

“T-the books have been very helpful.. I- I suppose I was so invested in them I was losing track of the time until you arrived, so it was an escape in a way..” 

Mitsuru seemed very fascinated by this. “I know what you mean, that happens to me all the time when I read! Before I met you, reading was one of the only things I did in my spare time that brought me joy.” She blushed. “But now that I get to spend so much time with you, I haven’t had the need to read as much, so maybe you can share the kind of stories you like to read with me and I’d be happy to check them out. Maybe we can even read togeth-!” 

“M-MITCHAN-SAN, I’M SO SORRY YOU’VE BEEN PUTTING YOUR HOBBIES ASIDE FOR ME!!!! BY ALL MEANS, YOU CAN CONTINUE TO READ AND NOT LET ME GET IN THE WAY OF THE THINGS THAT BRING YOU SO MUCH ENJOYMENT!!!” He panicked while also terrified to share the types of books he was reading to her.

Mitsuru looked at him realizing he misunderstood what she meant. “N-no, that’s not it! D-don’t you understand.. I-.. I’m trying to say..” Her cheeks grew pink as she spoke timidly. “..Spending time with you is what brings me the most joy..” 

Ritsu felt an immense heat envelop his chest from hearing such a sweet statement come out of Mitsuru’s mouth. Internally, he felt his body go weak in that moment, so he placed a hand over his chest and used all his willpower to overcome the momentary fatigue as he quickly regained control of his body so he wouldn’t concern her. 

“M-M-Mitchan-san..W-what you just said.. I- I.. I’m so touched.. W-when i’m with you.. “I- I feel so much joy too.. I- I am the happiest I can be when I am by your side...” He flushed and looked down as he continued to try recovering. 

“Ritchan-san…” She uttered softly as she stared at him mesmerized. 

The wind picked up as the cherry blossom petals began to fall at a faster pace; creating a sort of change in atmosphere as if their conversation had triggered it. She stood in place just staring at him with deep eyes as his words made their impact on her. Several moments passed, and Ritsu perked his head up to look at Mitsuru as he began to worry her silence meant he inadvertently made her uncomfortable. 

“I-I’m so sorry if what I said made you uncomfortable! I- It wasn’t my intention to-”

“Ritchan-san, there’s something I need to tell you, but I.. I’m scared..”

As Mitsuru’s statement cut through Ritsu’s apology, he stared at her with intense worry as she was now biting her lip and looking very shy and anxious. The last thing he ever wanted to do was scare her away or make her feel she couldn’t tell him things. Despite the sudden tension she created, which in turn made Ritsu nervous as well, he tried his best to comfort her so she could get whatever it was off her chest.

“P-please don’t be scared, Mitchan-san, y-you can tell me.” He stepped closer while feeling that earlier weakness come back, so he placed both his hands over his racing heart to calm himself down. 

“I-I want to, but I’m so worried i’ll ruin our friendship if- if you don’t-..” She trailed off with a fearful expression. 

Hearing her say this gravely concerned Ritsu. What could she possibly say that would ever risk ruining their relationship? Does she not realize just how important she is?

“M-Mitchan-san, nothing you could ever tell me would make me turn away from you!! W-whatever it is, you can tell me!! I will never let anything ruin our friendship, y-you mean far too much to me!!” He exclaimed in a panic while trying to hide the fact he was equally as scared now. 

Mitsuru blushed and took a deep breath while facing the other way as her nerves got the best of her. “I-..I know I said we could put what happened last night behind us, but I just want you to know even if I can never embrace you, I still..” She hesitated while fidgeting with her hands. “I.. I just can’t help it..” 

Ritsu felt guilty she still seemed so affected by the events of last night, but he wasn’t quite sure what she was trying to say. “W-What can’t you help, Mitchan-san?” He asked while feeling the tension grow stronger by the moment.

Her face was still engulfed with a deep crimson, but she let his prior sweet words give her the courage as she spoke.

“I.. I can’t help myself from feeling this way.. Each and every day, you’re at the front and center of my thoughts, and I get so unbelievably happy for every opportunity I get to spend time with you.. Ever since I met you, I know I've become a livelier person with reason to continue, and I want nothing more than to live each day helping you feel as cared about as you make me feel.. I- I wasn’t exactly planning on telling you this today, but.. you are the person who means more to me than anything else in this world and I-..I just-” She looked up at him shyly and uttered in a soft voice. “..I love you, Ritchan-san..”

Ritsu’s heart was pounding so fast it practically fluttered out of his chest by her confession, and in that instant, the moment those three little words escaped Mitsuru’s lips, his humanity succumbed to the curse by his overly heightened emotions and internal moment of weakness to the point it was far too powerful for him to fight against it. 

“A-A-!!!!” He shrieked abruptly before exploding into a large green cloud, which caused Mitsuru to fall over backwards by its impact. In that split second moment when Ritsu realized he transformed, he panicked tremendously and quickly scampered away while the cloud bought him a few seconds to hide. 

“R-RITCHAN-SAN?!” She exclaimed fearfully while staring in disbelief at the sudden green spectacle in front of her. 

When the cloud gradually began to dissipate, Mitsuru hastily shot up to her feet and looked around frantically trying to find Ritsu before shifting her gaze down and widening her eyes in horror when she saw nothing but his clothes laying on the ground. 

“W-WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO YOU?! W-WHERE’D YOU GO?!” She fell to her knees and grabbed his clothes and began searching through the sleeves as if thinking Ritsu had shrunken down in size. She continued looking to no avail before dropping his shirt and standing up once more while running and screaming his name. Tears began streaming her face as she feared something terrible must’ve happened. 

“RITCHAN-SAN, WHAT ON EARTH JUST- WHY DID YOU DISAPPEAR LIKE THAT?!- W-WAS IT SOMETHING I-” 

Mitsuru stopped her shouting once she started to hear the subtle sound of sniffling from a close distance that sounded like Ritsu’s. She caught her breath and forced herself to grow dead silent as she scanned the area and took cautious steps leading towards the source of the sound. 

As she got closer and closer, her attention was drawn to a long brown tail sticking out from behind a cherry blossom tree, which is where the sound seemed to be coming from.

She raised an eyebrow finding it strange, but nonetheless, she approached with shaky steps, not knowing what she was in for, and when she finally stood behind the tree, in front of her was a sad little monkey in the fetal position; hugging its knees while its face was buried in between them as it cried. 

Mitsuru stared down at the creature and blinked in bafflement, but despite her better judgement, she crouched down and put a hand on the distressed animal, not yet putting two and two together.

“U-Uhm- a-are you alright little…uh, monkey?” She asked, feeling a bit silly to be expecting an actual answer.

Ritsu flinched at her physical contact and quickly jolted his body to face her. “P-PLEASE DON’T LOOK AT ME, MITCHAN-SAN!!!” He pleaded in a loud voice then realized his mistake as he wrapped his tail to cover his eyes while covering his mouth with both hands as he couldn’t bear to see her reaction at seeing him like this.

Mitsuru’s eyes widened profoundly as her jaw dropped as it was undeniably Ritsu’s voice that just came out of this monkey. “E-EHHHHHH?!?!? I-IS THAT _YOU_ , RITCHAN-SAN??! B-BUT… W-WHY DID YOU TURN INTO A-? H-HOW DID YOU-?!” She began screaming her scatterbrained thoughts one after another while rubbing her eyes to make sure they were working properly.

Ritsu cried harder as he mistook her shock for disgust. “I- I’M SO SORRY!!!!! I-I NEVER WANTED YOU TO HAVE TO SEE ME LIKE THIS!!! O-OH NO, WHAT WILL I DO?! I PROMISED MY MOTHER YOU WOULD NEVER FIND OUT ABOUT THE CURSE!!! I AM SUCH A DISGRACE; JUST THE ABSOLUTE WORST!!!! I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO ATONE FOR WHAT I’VE DONE!!! I’M SO SORRY!!!!” He bowed his whole body in rapid succession since his monkey form was more agile than his human form. 

Mitsuru continued to stare, feeling utterly perplexed as this monkey perfectly mimicked Ritsu’s usual way of speaking and mannerisms; only cementing more in her mind that this animal and Ritsu were one in the same, which she was still having a hard time wrapping her head around. “' _C-curse_ ’?? W-What do you mean??” 

Ritsu put his hands on his head as he continued wailing around anxiously, but despite it all, he knew there was nothing he could possibly do to hide or keep his secret from her any longer. The jig was up. His worst fear came true. Mitsuru found out.

* * *

After a tiny bit of the initial shock wore off, Ritsu held his tail in his hands as he wiped his tears with it and tried his best to calm himself so he could explain. 

“I.. I’ve always been afflicted by this curse ever since I was born.. M-Mitchan-san… A-are you familiar with the legend of the Chinese zodiac…?” 

Mitsuru was still bent down on her knees, hanging on to his every word before lighting up a little at the question. “O-of course, my mother used to tell me that story quite often when I was a child! God invited the animals to the banquet, but the mischievous rat deceived the foolish cat and told him the banquet would be the day after, so that’s why the cat missed it and isn’t an official zodiac member- but, h-hold on a moment, Ritchan-san, what does that old fable have to do with this..?” 

“M-my family has been cursed by that legend for generations.. We possess the spirits of the zodiac animals.. I am cursed by the spirit of the monkey.. The moment I was born and my mother held me in her arms for the first time, I-” He held back his tears as he trailed off. “T-this is why I can’t…” 

Mitsuru absorbed his words as she tried to process one thing at a time. “Y-your family _also_ turn into zodiac animals..? B-but, w-wait is this why you grew up in this enclosed estate with only your family members as friends..?” She put a hand over her mouth as she worried that question came across a bit insensitive, but she was so desperate for answers. 

“Y-yes.. It’s why I was raised the way I was.. The curse is a secret within the family, which is why my mother was so cautious of you when you arrived that day.. T-the only person outside the family who knows the secret is Tohru-san since she lives with Shigure-niisan and the others..” 

She tilted her head curiously at this then got a sudden flashback. “W-wait, that one day when those monkeys clung all over you…” She paused as she recalled how traumatic that event was for him and knew she needed to be careful. “I-Is there some sort of relation..?” 

Ritsu could tell she felt bad asking about that, so he tried to ease her worries. “M-Monkeys are naturally drawn to me.. It’s a side effect of the curse even though it is quite rare of an occurrence for that to happen since monkeys are not so common, although I’m quite certain if we ever stumbled into a jungle, they’d-” He stopped as he couldn’t bear to think about it.

Mitsuru could tell he was feeling uneasy, so she scrambled to think of a different question. “S-so, h-how on earth did you turn into a monkey just now anyways…? H-how come I’ve never seen you transform until today..?” She kneeled a bit closer with sympathetic eyes. 

Ritsu blushed as he continued hugging his knees vulnerably. “..O-our transformations are triggered when we are hugged by members of the opposite sex.. T-this is why I wasn’t able to hug you.. i’m so sorry..” 

Mitsuru blinked as she realized all her theorizing the previous night and most of the morning would have never led her to this conclusion, but something didn’t make sense about his explanation. “B-but, Ritchan-san, back there, I.. I didn’t hug you..” 

Ritsu’s face went as red as a tomato as he recalled the moment before he transformed and the profound effect her profession of love put his body through. 

“U-...Uhm.. s-sometimes when our bodies experience an extreme state of emotion or weakness such as when we are sick, the transformation can trigger that way too..” He covered his eyes with his hands to hide his immense blush.

Upon learning this, Mitsuru was sort of impressed he hadn’t transformed sooner since he was almost always in an extreme state of emotion, but since he didn’t appear sick, she seemed to realize exactly what he was insinuating based off his flushed reaction, which made her blush in return. 

“R-Ritchan-san, d-did.. did what I say do this to you..?”

And just like that, Ritsu’s body was against him once more as it decided at this _very_ moment he would transform back into a human in front of Mitsuru when she was only mere inches away from him. 

This startled Mitsuru as she unintentionally looked down and caught a quick glimpse of Ritsu completely naked before shooting up to her feet and shielding her widened eyes while they both blushed and shouted profusely in unison. 

“A-AHHHHH! I-I’M SO SORRY, RITCHAN-SAN I- I DIDN’T MEAN TO LOOK- I- I PROMISE I DIDN’T SEE, M-MUCH!!”

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! M-MITCHAN-SAN, I AM SO EMBARRASSED, I SHOULD’VE TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN!!!!!! I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING SO INDECENT!!!! C-CAN YOU PLEASE BRING ME MY CLOTHES?!” He hid behind the tree with a beet red face as he tried covering himself up.

Mitsuru ran as fast as she could to grab his clothes and closed her eyes again as she made it back towards the tree to hand them to him frantically. “H-here!!” 

Ritsu took them hurriedly and felt so unbelievably mortified she somehow managed to see even more of him today than his fragile soul was remotely mentally prepared for her to see. 

* * *

As he began dressing in a panicked frenzy, Mitsuru held a hand over her beating heart as she blushed and tried shaking off what she saw out of respect for Ritsu’s privacy while still processing everything that happened. 

“O-okay, y-you can look now..” He choked out weakly in a muffled voice as his face was buried in his hands. He collapsed to his knees and leaned his body into a bowing position. “I- I am just so sorry f-for all of this, Mitchan-san.. I- I am so utterly ashamed!” He began to sob loudly as if this was him at his lowest point.

Mitsuru turned back around to face him once he gave her the clear, but seeing him so broken down like this hurt her deeply. She got on the ground swiftly and placed her hands on his shoulders and spoke soothingly. 

“R-Ritchan-san, please don’t cry like this.. You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed about!” She leaned her forehead down to rest upon the top of his head while now rubbing her hands along his back to comfort him, which successfully calmed his sobbing. “E-even if this was a surprise to learn and witness, it doesn’t change the way I feel about you.. You are so wonderful, and I-I accept this new side of you.. If this is a part of who you are, then I will love this side of you just as much..” 

Her words seemed to do the trick as he remained in this position for a while before slowly raising his body up to look at her. He wiped his tearful eyes with his arm and spoke in a shaky voice. 

“M-Mitchan-san.. I didn’t get to answer your question before..” 

Now it was Mitsuru’s turn to be nervous as she wasn’t sure how he would handle what she confessed to him before. Her heart began to race in her chest as she awaited his response.

“I-It’s true your words from before caused me to transform.. A-AH, NOT THAT IT’S YOUR FAULT!!!” He quickly exclaimed then continued. “I-It’s just.. I wasn’t expecting you to reciprocate my feelings, so I was so elated to hear you say what you did, I- I just couldn’t contain myself...” He blushed furiously as he realized he was effectively confessing as well. 

Mitsuru stared at Ritsu longingly while her cheeks grew a few shades pinker. “R-Ritchan-san, you-” 

“I only just realized it myself.. I-In fact, I was too shy to admit this to you earlier, b-but before you arrived here, I.. I was reading books about love to better understand these growing emotions I've felt towards you..” He twiddled with his thumbs bashfully. 

Hearing this was just too precious for Mitsuru to handle. Ritsu was the sweetest person alive as far as she was concerned. 

“B-But Mitchan-san-” He continued before she could respond. “I may never be a normal p-partner for you.. So long as I bear this curse, I won’t be able to hug you without transforming even though I so desperately want to..” He flushed at his word choice then began pulling on his hair as his self loathing took over. “Y-YOU DESERVE SOMEONE WHO CAN LOVE YOU THE WAY YOU DESERVE TO BE LOVED!!! I-I AM TOO MUCH OF A MESS TO EXPECT YOU TO BURDEN YOURSELF WITH ME!!”

As Ritsu had derailed his confession into a litany of self hatred and doubt, she quickly intervened to reassure him.

“Ritchan-san, please stop! That is not at all how I view it! There are multiple ways to feel love beyond physically…” She blushed now feeling a bit shy again. “I.. I’ve had these feelings even before I tried to hug you, so everything we’ve always done has been enough for me..”

Ritsu felt reaffirmed by her sincerity, and gulped as he realized this was really happening. “M-Mitchan-san.. d-does this mean, despite everything you just learned about me.. you’d actually like to be... m-more than friends with me..?” He placed his hands over his heart awaiting her reply.

Mitsuru blushed at his question then spoke sheepishly. “I- I would love to, b-but only if you are just as willing…” she fumbled with the hem of her skirt as they were still kneeling in front of each other.

Ritsu removed a hand from his heart and took a deep breath knowing he had to keep it together this time. “I- I’ve never had a romantic partner before, so I may still need to read those books to help me figure out how to-…” He blushed timidly.

Mitsuru understood this was new territory for the both of them, so she placed a hand atop of his and smiled warmly. “We can learn together.. To tell you the truth, Ritchan-san, I’ve never had a romantic partner either, so i’m a little nervous as well, but we can take it at our own pace…I- I want you to feel comfortable in our relationship..”

Ritsu blushed as he looked down at their hands. He felt oddly relieved that she was just as inexperienced as he was, but at the same time, he could hardly believe that someone as beautiful and incredible as Mitsuru never had a lover before. Nonetheless, he shifted his gaze off their hands and stared into her eyes with deep yearning.

“Mitchan-san, nothing would make me happier.. I would be so privileged to learn with you..” He grew emotional as he replayed her earlier confession in his head and knew just how lucky he was to have someone like Mitsuru who loved and accepted him so unconditionally for who he is; curse and all. He suddenly recalled Tohru’s words from earlier that morning and how he was fearful over nothing this whole time just like she predicted. He smiled delightfully at this realization then uttered tenderly.

“B-by the way, Mitchan-san, I.. I love you, too..” 

Mitsuru felt emotional tears well up in her eyes at hearing Ritsu return the exact words she expressed to him earlier. Ritsu lifted a hand up to wipe away her tears as he seemed to understand she was crying out of happiness. Mitsuru smiled at his thoughtful little action and leaned her head to rest in the palm of his hand and hummed sweetly as she had never experienced a happier feeling in all her life. 

Time didn’t seem to exist for either one of them in this moment as they remained like this while the cherry blossom petals engulfed them once more.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, I present to you, an actual text conversation between my sister and I from two months ago:
> 
> Me: "Omg Megan, do you think Mitsuru should find out the secret by hugging Ritsu, OR!!!!!!!!! She confesses to him, and it puts his body under such a state of emotion he transforms kinda like Yuki when Tohru called him, "Yuki-kun"??? Ahhhh"
> 
> My sister: "YES YES YES SECOND OPTION!!!"
> 
> And my heart has been set on that idea ever since xD I know Ritsu is literally always a ball of emotion, so you might consider it a plot hole that he doesn't always just spontaneously combust into his cursed form, but I just wanted the transformation to happen through a confession to make it more hype XD I was tempted to say he was mildly weak/sick from not getting a good nights sleep, but I also didn't want to make Mitsuru feel guilty he didn't sleep very well because of what happened, so I hope it's okay I didn't go that route even though I sprinkled some hints to it by saying he was feeling weak and fatigued.
> 
> Also there will still be plenty more for Ritsu to tell Mitsuru (Like begging her to keep the secret and explaining more about the intricacies like Hatori's memory erasing abilities and Akito. Just everything about Akito lol. And also telling her Shigure is the dog xD) but for this chapter, I wanted him to just tell her the basics and focus more on the confession aspect. 
> 
> If I have one regret, it's that I sort of wanted more buildup prior to Mitsuru's confession, but I think with the atmosphere after Ritsu said how much he is happy being by her side, there was just no better moment to put her profession of love lol. (Is this story still a slow burn or are things progressing too fast? Do i ask this every time? XD)
> 
> Anyways!!! I hope the wait was worth it now that Mitchan and Ritchan are totally lovers xD (That's what the official wiki labels them as lol)
> 
> Okay last thing i promise, but I wanted to incorporate them saying "I was born for your sake" and stuff at the end, but since they only just became boyfriend/girlfriend, I'll save that for later (and also because I want this story to keep going lol.) Okay sorry for rambling, i am so happy for anyone who reads this, lol, have a great day!


	12. The Curse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so first of all thank you so much to farm_girl and darkpleasure98, I seriously appreciate the kudos! While I’m at it, thank you modzy78 for always being amazing and sticking with my story since the beginning, I know I can continue writing with all the support! :D (totally not pressuring anyone to feel forced to continue reading my Mitsuru x Ritsu fluff XD)
> 
> Sorry it took awhile to update again, but I will definitely be back to uploading more regularly for the month of March! I hope this chapter turned out okay! ^_^;

* * *

After an undefinable amount of time had passed, Mitsuru and Ritsu continued looking into each others eyes just basking in the afterglow of their admittance of romantic feelings for one another before Ritsu gently removed his hand from off her face and brought it back to rest on his lap as Mitsuru began to speak cheerfully.

“Everything that just happened feels almost like a dream, Ritchan-san. I feel like I just want to know everything about you! I still have so many questions!” She stopped herself and bowed her head down as she worried she was getting too carried away. “A-ah, only if you’re comfortable talking about it that is!”

Ritsu realized Mitsuru was blissfully unaware of the true severity of the situation and that it wasn’t exactly called a ‘curse’ for nothing, but nevertheless, he couldn’t help finding her enthusiasm of wanting to learn more about him rather charming, so he was willing to indulge her. Not to mention, now that they were in a relationship, he felt he owed it to her to explain all he could so she could have a better idea of what she was getting herself into since the secret was out.

“I-It’s okay! Please go ahead, Mitchan-san! I will try to answer anything you’d like to know to the best of my ability, but um..perhaps it would be best if we continue this conversation inside..” He stood up and looked around worriedly for a moment before extending a hand out to her.

Mitsuru observed the troubled expression on his face as she understood this was something he wasn’t allowed to talk about so freely. She happily accepted his hand and stood beside him as they made their way to his home once more.

Ritsu opened the door and allowed Mitsuru to enter first. “W-would you like me to make some tea, Mitchan-san?” 

Mitsuru smiled at his polite offer. “Oh, yes that sounds lovely, thank you!” She removed her shoes at the doorway then stepped inside while Ritsu followed suit and hurriedly made his way into the kitchen to prepare the teakettle. She sat down at the dining room table while her mind raced thinking of all the questions she wanted to ask. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


After a few moments, Ritsu joined her in the dining room while setting down the tray of two teacups on the table and took his seat across from her. 

“Thank you very much, Ritchan-san!” She smiled sweetly while taking a sip of the tea.

“You’re welcome, Mitchan-san.” He tensed up a little as it was clear he was nervous for the impending conversation. Even though he knew he could trust Mitsuru wholeheartedly, for the sake of easing his own paranoia he felt the need to make sure she would keep the secret before he answered any more of her questions.

“Um.. before we go any further.. Please can you promise to keep everything involving the curse a secret..? I-It’s not that I don’t trust you, b-because I do! It’s just-“

Mitsuru instantly bowed her head respectfully while folding her hands together. “O-of course, Ritchan-san! I wouldn’t dare tell a soul, I will take this to my grave if I have to! I promise your secret is safe with me!” She exclaimed while zipping her lips and throwing away the metaphorical key.

Ritsu smiled at Mitsuru’s little gesture and felt relieved to have that huge weight lifted off his shoulder as she proved her trustworthiness just as he knew she would. “Thank you Mitchan-san, I- I feel much better hearing you say that. I knew I was worried over nothing.” He bowed in return then spoke softly. “Please feel free to ask me anything.”

Mitsuru was happy to have successfully made Ritsu comfortable confiding in her, but now that she had the floor to ask whatever she wanted, she wasn’t actually sure where to begin. 

“Hmm, well you said your family is afflicted by this curse as well, so does that mean there are 11 others just like you who turn into animals from the chinese zodiac? Is your mother one of them too..?” She closed her eyes trying to picture which animal Okami would be.

“That is true, but there are actually 13 of us counting the cat..” He admitted while purposefully leaving out Akito as ‘The God’ for now. “And no, my mother is not a member of the zodiac.. If she was, I would be allowed to hug her without transforming..” 

Mitsuru tilted her head curiously. “Oh, really..? Why’s that?” 

Ritsu traced a finger around the rim of his teacup as he pondered his response. “Well.. for whatever reason, when we hug other cursed members of the zodiac, regardless of opposite sex, we don’t transform..”

“I see..” Mitsuru looked very intrigued by this then let her curiosity get the best of her. “So then, how many women  _ are _ you able to hug, Ritchan-san?” She blushed feeling like that question and her tone of voice probably made her sound jealous when that wasn’t her intent. 

Ritsu didn’t seem to notice. “O-only three.. The women members of the zodiac are the boar, the horse, and the tiger.. I- I’m only really close with one of them, and she does give quite the powerful hugs.” he said with slight amusement as he pictured Kagura smothering him with hugs as she often did.

Mitsuru smiled while wondering if she’d ever somehow get to meet any of these family members. As she was pondering this potential scenario, her eyes widened manically when a thought dawned on her. She slammed both hands onto the table and leaned forward. 

“RITCHAN-SAN! IS SHIGURE-SENSEI A MEMBER OF THE ZODIAC?!”

Ritsu shuddered nervously as he stared at Mitsuru who was now all fired up. He began to sweat knowing there was definitely a zero percent chance of getting out of answering this one. “A-Ahm… well…Shigure-niisan is.. erm.. perhaps it’s best if you just don’t try to hug him..” 

Mitsuru’s expression changed to disgust at Ritsu’s absurd suggestion. “As if I’d ever! I can think of about a million things I’d rather do than hug that spineless-!” She cut herself off as it suddenly clicked in her head what he was implying. “W-wait so he is?” 

Ritsu gave a small sheepish nod, so she sat back down and reverted back to her previous demeanor.

“So sensei can transform too, huh..” She tapped a finger on her chin as she tried to imagine which animal he was. “Oh!! I’ll bet he’s the snake! I can’t think of a more fitting animal for Shigure-sensei than a cold hearted, slithering little slimy-!“

“No, no! You’ve got it all wrong! Aya-niisan is nothing like that!!!” Ritsu quickly interjected in defense of Ayame before catching himself. “A-AH! I’M SORRY, PLEASE FORGET I SAID THAT! S-SHIGURE-NIISAN IS ACTUALLY THE DOG, NOT THE SNAKE! I’M SORRY IF YOU’RE DISAPPOINTED!” He bowed several times knowing he needed to be more careful.

Mitsuru stared at Ritsu while letting his little slip go over her head as her attention was only focused on the fact that Shigure, the man she worked with who caused her neverending torment, could transform into a dog of all things. She began creating a mental image of what Shigure would look like. 

_ “Hmm… a tiny yapping chihuahua maybe? Or a fat wrinkly bulldog? No, those are too good for sensei..”  _ She folded her arms trying to think of every unappealing dog breed she could think that would be fitting for Shigure, but she decided to put that aside for now.

“Well, you can trust that I won’t be asking Shigure-sensei for a hug today, tomorrow, the next day, or anytime in the indefinite future for that matter, Ritchan-san.” As much as she meant those words, deep down, the only thing disappointing to Mitsuru about all this was the fact she couldn’t use this newfound information to get back at Shigure for all the taunting he’d put her through over time.

“T-thank you, Mitchan-san. I know I shouldn’t expose the others like this, but since you work with Shigure-niisan, I think it’s okay for you to know that.. I-is there anything else you’d like to know?”

Mitsuru felt like a lot of her big questions were answered, but this whole situation really was a lot to take in, so there probably were still tons of things she could ask. Either way, she really hoped she wasn’t accidentally upsetting Ritsu with any of this. As she was thinking of a new question, she suddenly realized something when she was jogging her memory of what each animal in the zodiac was.

“Wait a second, isn’t there a year of the  _ dragon _ ? Does someone in your family transform into an honest to goodness dragon, Ritchan-san?!” 

Ritsu was happy he wasn’t taking a sip of his tea when she asked that, because he surely would’ve spit it out. “U-Uhm.. Well, i’m sure he would be rather embarrassed if he were here right now, but he actually transforms into.. a uh.. a seahorse..” 

There was a moment of silence as Mitsuru’s excitement died down as her cartoonish image of a menacing dragon was debunked. “A seahorse..?” 

“Y-yes.. We believe the curse has weakened significantly over time, so our forms are a lot less grand in scale as they used to be..” 

“It weakened? Does that mean there is a way to break the curse?!” Mitsuru exclaimed with a determined expression as if she was hopeful she could somehow be useful in breaking the curse.

Ritsu stared at the deep resolve on Mitsuru’s face and felt awestruck that she appeared so passionate about potentially saving him.

“I- I don’t actually know if there truly  _ is _ a way to break the curse..” He paused as he recalled Kagura mentioning that Isuzu was trying to take matters into her own hands to find a way to break the curse, but unfortunately he wasn’t familiar with what she was doing to go about it, so he couldn’t say for sure. “S-some of the others are trying to find that answer as we speak..” 

Mitsuru could tell he was just as confused as she was on this one, so she calmed her eagerness a little. “Well.. would you like to be free of your curse someday, Ritchan-san..?” She asked thinking it was probably a dumb question, but she just wanted to understand from Ritsu’s point of view how he felt about the situation.

He looked down as if it was the first time he’d ever been asked this and appeared like he was giving it serious thought before answering. “Yes, I would.. Even though I am strongly attached to everyone due to the bond we share, the truth is, I just want to live a normal life where I can finally have the confidence in myself so nobody has to apologize for me anymore… And I hope to have a bright future.. with you..” He blushed feverishly as he brought the focus back to their relationship status.

Mitsuru blushed deeply with a glimmer in her eye at his sweet words. “Ritchan-san..”

Ritsu observed her bashful demeanor and blurted out frantically. “I-I’m sorry if that was too much! I-I hope you're not already regretting wanting to be with a lowlife like me! I don’t blame you if you want nothing to do with my future-!” 

She walked over to him and placed a hand on top of his and leaned close while looking at him with earnest eyes. “Ritchan-san, that’s not it! I would never regret wanting to be with you.. I-I was just so honored that I have a place in your vision of a bright future. I want to do anything I can to help this future become a reality if there's any way I can.” 

The heat rose in Ritsu’s face as Mitsuru was so close and being so wonderful and reassuring as always. He exhaled to release his anxieties while placing his free hand on top of her hand that was still resting on his opposite hand.

“F-forgive me, Mitchan-san.. Even though I have to burden you with my curse, ..I am so lucky you still find it in your heart to...l-love someone like me.” He blushed as he spoke those last few words out loud. 

Mitsuru smiled then spoke tenderly as she began tidying his shirt collar from when he dressed semi sloppily from earlier. “Even if the curse takes years to break or if there’s no way to break it at all, I- I will stay by your side, Ritchan-san..”

“Mitchan-san..” He uttered while watching her fix his collar feeling so touched by her dedication. 

They stared into each other's eyes as they shared yet another romantic exchange, but their moment came to a halt as the loud sound of rain pouring down and hitting against the window seemed to take them out of their trance at the same time. 

“O-oh, it’s raining..” Ritsu said softly as he shifted his gaze towards the window.

Mitsuru stood up and looked outside as the wind from earlier picked up to a level where it was now pouring down hard. “You’re right.. Well I guess it’s good we got to enjoy the beautiful day before it started raining, huh Ritchan-san?”

He stood up and joined her looking outside the same window. “Yes.. I’m just thankful nobody else was around when you saw me transform..” His thoughts darkened as he envisioned a worst case scenario where Hatori would have to erase Mitsuru’s memories, but it was too painful of a thought for him to even allow his mind to continue imagining, so he quickly shook his head and opted not to bring it up.

Mitsuru looked around to her left and right then back at Ritsu as if she only just now realized something was missing. “That reminds me, your parents haven’t been home this whole time, have they?” 

Ritsu began to panic as he realized he was home alone with Mitsuru, who was his new girlfriend no less, and with how traditional his parents were, they would probably freak out by this. 

“A-AH, I’M SORRY I DIDN’T THINK TO TELL YOU, BUT MY PARENTS ARE AWAY AT THE HOT SPRING FOR THE WEEKEND! I AM SORRY IF YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE! N-NOW THAT IT’S RAINING THOUGH, IT’S PROBABLY BEST IF WE STAY HERE WHERE IT’S SAFE UNTIL IT STOPS! I’M SO SORRY, MITCHAN-SAN!”

Mitsuru smiled with amusement by how much of a gentleman and loyal son Ritsu really was. “It’s okay, Ritchan-san! I was just curious is all, I hope your parents don’t mind me being here with you..” she blushed.

Ritsu went on the defensive again. “I-IT’S NO TROUBLE AT ALL! YOU’RE ALWAYS WELCOME HERE!” He exclaimed while still thinking his mother would have a heart attack if she could see them right now. 

Mitsuru felt relieved, then tried lightening the mood since she felt they both needed a break from the tension of everything involving the curse.

“You know, Ritchan-san, if there's one thing I love doing when i’m inside when it’s raining, it’s reading a good book! I-If you wouldn’t mind, would you like to share some books you’re interested in with me while we wait for the rain to clear? D-don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be the books you mentioned before, I just would love to find out what sort of literature you enjoy..”

Ritsu’s face flushed as Mitsuru took yet another interest in learning more about him, which he just could not say no to. “Of course, Mitchan-san! I would love to share the books I enjoy reading with you!” He was internally relieved she was willing to spare him from showing her the love books. “F-follow me, I’ll show you where the books are..” 

Mitsuru beamed happily that he seemed just as eager about this as she did, so she followed him as he led the way.

* * *

  
  


As they entered the rather large study, there were so many bookshelves with probably thousands of books, it made Mitsuru’s head spin. Ritsu was absolutely enamored by how high spirited and full of life Mitsuru was to be in her element as she eagerly scanned her eyes across a bunch of the books trying to guess which one’s were his favorite. It reminded him of the previous day when he tried to guess which desk was hers at work. They truly were forming a deep understanding with one another, because she was right on the money with a lot of her guesses. 

“Mitchan-san, you’re incredible. I can’t believe you could guess so accurately..” He said as she held a stack of books in her hands, both a mix of his favorites and some of her favorites. 

Mitsuru smiled proudly then walked over to the couch and set the books on the coffee table while patting the seat next to her with pink cheeks as if she was suddenly bashful. 

Ritsu blushed deeply as well, but dutifully did as she wanted as he took his seat beside her. 

“A-are you okay like this, Ritchan-san, or should I give you a bit more space..?” She asked a bit hesitantly as she knew she couldn’t exactly cuddle with him as they read. Even if she could, she was a bit too shy to try something so daring with him so soon anyways.

Ritsu gulped but nodded his head reassuringly. “Y-yes, this is okay, Mitchan-san, don’t worry I feel very comfortable sitting here with you..”

She blushed then handed him a book of her own personal recommendation. “I hope you enjoy the story I picked out for you, Ritchan-san. I think the message of this book will resonate with you and hopefully have you feeling as uplifted and encouraged as I felt when I read it for the first time!” 

Ritsu took the book and held it close to his chest with both hands as she spoke about it so highly. “I am so honored to read something that you were so inspired by, Mitchan-san! I am sure I will love it as much as you did. I-I hope the book I selected for you to read will bring you an equal amount of joy and happiness..” He said as he watched her grab the book he picked out for her.

“I already know I will! I’ve never read this before, so I am so excited to read and discuss it with you! I’m sure since you already know how it goes, it’ll be entertaining for you to get my thoughts along the way since I’ll have no idea what to expect!” She giggled a little then calmed her excitableness and spoke in a gentle voice. “Thank you for wanting to do this with me, Ritchan-san, it means a lot.”

“O-of course, I want to do this just as much as you, Mitchan-san! Seeing you happy makes me so happy! I’ll read with you anytime you want! In fact, a-any activity we do together means a lot to me too!” He noticed the little twinkle in her eye by the time he finished speaking. 

“Ritchan-san.. You are so wonderful. I can’t believe how lucky I am..” She blushed while fidgeting with the book in her hands. 

Ritsu was about to default to his usual ways of screaming how he was the lucky one, not her, but he mentally stopped himself as he knew that wasn’t the right thing to say. 

“M-Mitchan-san.. I feel lucky too.. I am looking forward to reading these books and discussing them together as a couple..” He blushed furiously as he realized what he said at the end. 

Hearing Ritsu call them a couple made Mitsuru’s cheeks grow about three shades redder. “I’d love that so much, Ritchan-san..“ 

Ritsu was still visibly flustered by what he said, but Mitsuru shifted her attention back onto the book and opened it and began to read, so he calmed himself down and picked up the book she picked out for him and did the same.

* * *

  
  


Several hours went by before they knew it, and Ritsu didn’t realize just how right it felt to be so close with her. Whenever she’d finish a chapter, she’d report to him which characters she was liking and predict her thoughts for future chapters, which made him chuckle in amusement. She was simply too adorable than he could ever express. 

After awhile, they noticed the rain had stopped, so they both decided this was a good place to call it a day. They got up from the couch and stretched out. 

“I’m so pleased you’re enjoying the book so much, Mitchan-san. Please take it home and feel free to call me or visit anytime you want to talk more about it.”

“Well you do the same, Ritchan-san! I can’t wait till you make it to chapter 10, that’s where things get really intense!” She said with a semi mischievous grin. 

“I can’t wait to find out what happens then! P-please let me walk you home..” He blushed as they made their way to the front door. 

Mitsuru smiled at his offer as he always was so sweet by wanting to walk her home. “Thank you, Ritchan-san.”

* * *

During the walk, she couldn’t help wondering if she’d been too abrupt earlier by changing the focus off the curse and reading the books instead. It was very important to her to understand how Ritsu was feeling about the situation since she wanted to build a strong foundation of trust and openness with him. 

“Ritchan-san, are you sure you’re still okay with everything I learned about earlier today?”

Ritsu panicked as she brought it back to that, but he tried not to worry her. “O-of course I’m okay! I-I’m just sorry I didn’t tell you sooner! T-there are reasons why I hesitated until today, but I trust you unconditionally, Mitchan-san! I.. I just hope you don’t mind having a..m-monkey for a..” He fumbled with his cufflinks again frantically. 

Mitsuru blushed as she knew what he was implying. “You know, if it helps Ritchan-san, I've never seen a cuter monkey in all my life.” She tried cheering him up with an honest compliment. 

“A-ah,  _ c-cute _ ? y-you really think so? T-thank you, you’re too kind..” He blushed deeply as his heart raced. 

She smiled by his reaction as they continued like this for the remainder of the walk. 

When they finally made it to her apartment, Ritsu extended a hand out as if he had something he wanted to say, so she turned to look at him patiently with a smile. 

“M-Mitchan-san.. W-would it be okay if I take you out on our first real date tomorrow…?” He said nervously with trembling hands and a beet red face. 

Mitsuru’s heart soared by his suggestion as she was more than delighted at the thought of it. “Absolutely, Ritchan-san! I am so excited to imagine our first date together. Anything we do will feel so magical.” She clasped her hands together dreamily just thinking about it.

Her enthusiasm was contagious as Ritsu now was also fantasizing about what a marvelous time it would be. “I-I’m so thrilled thinking about it too.”

Mitsuru giggled. “Well now I want to look my best for tomorrow, so maybe i’ll wear that kimono I bought again! Will you join me, Ritchan-san?” She asked with such a sweet tone.

“Y-you really wouldn’t mind me wearing a kimono for our first date, Mitchan-san..?” He said a bit stunned as he was still sorting out his emotions about his crossdressing.

“Well.. I think you’re attractive no matter how you dress…” She blushed feeling flustered by her word choice. “I-It’s up to you, of course! I just want you to feel like you can be yourself for our first date..” She rubbed her arm up and down a bit bashfully.

Ritsu stared at Mitsuru with a touched expression as he knew she truly loved him no matter what. “I-I’ll wear my best for you, Mitchan-san.. Thank you for always accepting me..” He said softly.

She smiled then bowed her head down. “I always will, Ritchan-san.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so yeah hopefully this chapter didn’t feel too choppy or boring since it was a lot of exposition of Ritsu just answering questions about the curse. I was worried Mitsuru came across too eager with the questions, but I wanted some of them to be funny, so hopefully it doesn’t seem like she was being insensitive. I might make it a running joke where she tries to guess which dog breed Shigure is, so I’m gonna just apologize right now if she disses a dog breed you like, lol. 
> 
> Also I am excited again because I came up with what I would consider to be a great idea for a future chapter involving primarily just Shigure and Mitsuru alone. XD (I wanna do it for the next chapter so bad, but I need Ritsu and Mitsuru to develop more as a couple first so it’s gonna have to wait a bit longer lol.) The one spoiler I’ll give for it is, I was inspired by the manga chapter 101 for this idea, but I give my very fanfic-y twist on it cause that’s just what I do. XD Have a great day and thank you for reading :D


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